Posted on by Bill Slagle

October 24, 2025, EDC Agenda and Meeting Minutes

October 24, 2025
12:00 PM-1:30 PM
Mayland Small Business Center Conference Room
67 Hotel Place
Spruce Pine, NC 28777

  1. CALL TO ORDER
  2. WELCOME
  3. INVOCATION – LEE ELLIS
  4. ETHICS AWARENESS AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST REMINDER:
    In accordance with the State Government Ethics Act, it is the duty of every board member to avoid both conflicts of interest and appearance of conflict. Does any board member have any known conflicts of interest or appearances of conflict of interest with respect to any matters coming before the Board? If so, please identify the conflict or appearance of conflict and refrain from any undue participation in the particular matter involved.
  5. ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
  6. ADOPTION OF AGENDA
  7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
  8. PUBLIC COMMENTS
  9. REPORTS/PRESENTATIONS
    1. Financials – Amanda Hollifield
    2. Business Park Update – Jamie McMahan
    3. Small Business Center Update – Morgan Buchanan
    4. Supply Chain Study – Dale Carroll
  10. DIRECTORS REPORT – BILL SLAGLE
    1. CTE Update with Mitchell County Schools
    2. Discussion about November/December Meetings
    3. Discuss Board Retreat
    4. EDPNC Drone Program
    5. NCEDA Fellowship Program
  11. BOARD COMMENTS/UPDATES
  12. ADJOURNMENT

MINUTES

October 24, 2025

The Mitchell County EDC Board met in person on October 24, 2025 at 12:00pm. Present were, Bill Slagle, Chris Gentry, Morgan Buchanan, Dale Carrol (Guest), John Boyd, Marley Cloer, Patti Jensen, Jon Duncan, Curtis Taylor, Beth Holmes, and Lee Ellis.

  1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Chris Gentry called the meeting to order at 12:04pm.
  2. WELCOME
  3. INVOCATION: Curtis Taylor
  4. ETHICS AWARENESS AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST REMINDER:
    In accordance with the State Government Ethics Act, it is the duty of every board member to avoid both conflicts of interest and appearance of conflict. Does any board member have any known conflicts of interest or appearances of conflict of interest with respect to any matters coming before the Board? If so, please identify the conflict or appearance of conflict and refrain from any undue participation in the particular matter involved.
  5. ADDITIONS OR CHANGES TO THE AGENDA
  6. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: No quorum – will need to adopt agenda next meeting. (12/12)
  7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: No quorum – will need to approve minutes next meeting. (12/12)
  8. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
  9. REPORTS/PRESENTATIONS
  10. Financials – Bill Slagle
    1. The Money Market account set up 3.2% drawing, $122,000 in check book now, all bills paid will get $65K from county in January, $623,000 total assets, should receive credit card within the next week.
  11. Business Park Update – Bill Slagle
    1. We have everything submitted for the EDPNC Site Selection that was due October 10th. We put out the RFP and will evaluate November 3rd. For funding, we have received the $50k from NCRR, and plan to receive another $25K from NC Co-op/French Broad soon. We met with the Sibelco foundation leaders and they have slowed down their grant process until the beginning of the new year, but have considered giving us $75K in January instead of the original $150K. They plan to discuss this request more at their upcoming board meeting. We will find out in late December or early January if we have been selected through EDPNC, but we are feeling confident.
  12. Small Business Center Update – Morgan Buchanan
    1. The NC Growth seminar has been canceled due to lack of participation and enrollment. She talks about upcoming events such as the Agricultural Summit and the Food truck boot camp in Cherokee (November 17-20). Morgan informs everyone of a new ICAP grant for $5,100 for small businesses affected by Hurricane Helene. Duke Energy also has up to $500K in grants, but a non-profit has to apply and forward the funds back out. The Small Business Center, EDC, and Chamber will be working with Mitchell High School to create “CTE Student of the Month”.
  13. Supply Chain Study – Dale Carroll
    1. Guest Dale Carroll gave a presentation on Project Supply Chain. He acknowledged all the regional and local partners that were involved with the study. SHEDC conducted a comprehensive study for Mayland Community College to support an ARC initiative project focused on attracting advanced manufacturing to Western NC. The study confirms that the region’s high-purity quartz deposits are globally exceptional and central to supply chains for a variety of things. The plan recommends targeting companies that use high-purity quartz, marketing the region’s strategic advantages, developing new industrial sites, collaborating with NC State University and regional partners, and international outreach to encourage foreign direct investment.
  14. Chamber of Commerce Update – Patti Jensen
    1. Patti informed everyone of upcoming events and happenings: Annual Chamber dinner, app launch and new website, approved new dues structure, waiting on $50K from NCRR, ribbon cuttings, new members and renewals, coffee & connect October 31st, ECU Dental School celebration November 13, new chamber bylaws, sending in documents to be a 501(c)(3), Christmas parade and Small Business Saturday November 29th.
    2. DIRECTORS REPORT – BILL SLAGLE
  15. CTE Update with Mitchell County Schools
    1. Bill and several others took a tour of all the schools and the CTE program at Mitchell High School. They are going to create a promo video for the CTE programs that we can share and add to our website. They talked about planning an Industry Day and inviting multiple industry and business leaders in the County. They also mentioned sponsorships through these industry leaders.
  16. Discussion about November/December Meetings
    1. The board discussed meeting dates for November and December and that discussion resulted in one meeting for the two months that will be on December 12th at the Chamber Office.
  17. Discuss Board Retreat
    1. Bill proposed the idea of an EDC Board Retreat for this upcoming year in Q1. He shared that a poll will be created to determine the best possible date for everyone.
  18. EDPNC Drone Program
    1. An application was submitted to be apart of NC Co-op’s drone video program for the Mitchell Business Park. Update to come.
  19. NCEDA Fellowship Program
    1. The EDC has applied to be a site for the NCEDA Fellowship program for Summer of 2026. We have been recommended to apply to be a site, but only two get chosen.
    2. BOARD COMMENTS/UPDATES
  20. Boyd – He shared that Mayland had their Spooktacular event and it went well. The Governor’s Task Force WNC is coming to Mayland next month.
  21. ADJOURNMENT