Woods County development authority approves financials, schedules donor mixer; discusses film-friendly certification, committee terms

The Woods County Industrial Development Authority approved minutes and financial statements, set a donor appreciation mixer for Nov. 18 at Alba Beer Company and discussed website updates, a county film-friendly certification, committee term limits, industrial-park infrastructure bids and a USDA-backed revolving loan fund during a meeting, officials said.

The authority approved the minutes from the March 11 meeting and accepted financial statements through May 31 after a motion and roll-call votes. Board members recorded in the roll call voted in favor. The financial report noted $45,940 in outstanding pledges; one large pledge check was signed and deposited before the meeting, staff said.

Members heard an update on the authority's website work and outreach. Staff said they are working month-to-month with their web vendor to build a "building insights" database of available sites and properties and are adding materials to a resource library for businesses and economic developers. The authority also reviewed results from a recent turkey-hunt outreach event, which staff said drew sponsorships and potential business leads.

The authority discussed applying for a county-level "film-friendly" certification. Staff said the county-level film office is reviewing documentation and that the film office representative, Yousef, expects to respond in a few weeks. Staff said a countywide film package would make Woods County more attractive to production companies because it would allow a single package pointing to multiple locations (desert, cabins, historic downtown, etc.).

On membership and terms, the authority noted that two seats are set to expire in June 2025 (identified in the meeting as Dr. Bo Hannaford and Jeremy Eaton). The group discussed the process for filling a vacancy created by the recent resignation of a county commissioner representative (named in the meeting as David), and that the county commissioners normally name a replacement. The authority expected a new county commissioner appointment could occur after a special election or by December, depending on county timelines.

The board voted to hold a donor appreciation mixer on Nov. 18 at Alba Beer Company (a "come-and-go" mixer similar to last year). The motion to set the date and location was moved and seconded and approved in a roll-call vote.

During the WCIDA update, staff said the association's insurance pool (part of AECO) required an additional payment of about $1,221 because of recent payouts, but the authority received a renewal quote that staff said remained comparatively affordable. The authority's 2023–24 audit, conducted by Jana Walker, returned no findings, and the board approved retaining Jana Walker for the next audit period.

Staff also reported on an industrial-park infrastructure project funded in part through ARPA: bids for water-and-sewer work are due in June, with a tentative plan to begin construction about 10 days after the contractor selection. Separately, staff said the USDA-backed revolving loan fund has two loan recipients in place and about $38,550 remaining for future loans.

Finally, the board approved a motion to enter an executive session to discuss the annual performance evaluation and compensation for Executive Director Jeremy Zeller. The motion passed on a roll-call vote.

Meeting materials referenced during discussion included the March 11 minutes, the financial statements through May 31, and the WCIDA audit report; staff provided updates and answered clarifying questions but no additional formal actions beyond those noted were recorded.