Board approves officers, looks to 2018

Perryville’s cost to join the Economic Development Partnership board — $500 — has been covered by an anonymous donor.

Vicki Goode, director of Main Street Perryville, told members of the Economic Development Partnership board on Wednesday morning that she had been contacted after last week’s meeting by someone who felt Perryville’s presence on the board was important. The person, who is remaining anonymous, gave Goode the $500.

Goode gave the envelope containing the money to Board Chair Ben Nelson during the meeting, after making the announcement.

“That news made my day,” said Nelson, after the board provided a round of applause.

Nelson, who had been serving as interim chair, was officially made the board chair during Wednesday’s meeting. Also nominated and approved as officers were: Marty Gibson, vice chair; John Albright, secretary; and Walter Goggin, treasurer.

Under the newly reorganized board structure, EDP board members from public partners such as Boyle County and Danville are now eligible to serve as officers, but none of the officer positions were filled by the newly eligible members. Nelson is an at-large member; Albright and Goggin are representatives for the Boyle County Industrial Foundation; and Gibson, with Farmers National Bank, is one of three representatives for the EDP’s private “Chairman’s Circle” donors.

Nelson and the other three stepped out of the meeting while the board discussed and then voted on the recommendations.

Danville Independent Schools Superintendent Keith Look and community member Ennis Tillman were also welcomed as two of the at-large members appointed to the board; Nelson is the third at-large member.

The board also discussed assigning term lengths. Each entity is to establish the lengths for its members, between one year, two years and three years. Nelson asked everyone to bring those terms back to the January meeting.

He said each entity also needed to select one person to serve on the executive committee, which will help the EDP staff plan meetings.

“(The executive committee) is not a decision-making body, it just serves as a leadership team to keep the board effective,” Nelson said.

It would require the responsibility of an additional meeting each month. Those meetings will start in January.

Nelson also asked members to consider relocating the meetings. He said he likes meeting at Constitution Square State Historic Site, but the group is too large for everyone to be able to sit at one table there. Denyo is one location up for consideration.

“They have an area that would accommodate this crowd comfortably,” Nelson said. “It’s important that we’re all in this together.”

Davenport asked that the staff members of the EDP review the suggestions for targeted economic initiatives that had been made by a committee including herself and Mayor Mike Perros.

Other plans for 2018, Nelson said, include a board retreat. The intent, he said, would be to give the board a chance to get to know one another and to have an opportunity for a “more lengthy dive” into the strategic plan.

Members decided to have an event that included a Friday-night social gathering and a Saturday meeting; it will be scheduled at a later date.