MINUTES IDA REGULAR MEETING JUNE 25, 2015 ACCEPTED BY THE BOARD 7/23/15 PRESENT Joanne Minieri, Chair Grant Hendricks, Vice Chairman Peter Zarcone, Treasurer Anthony Giordano, Secretary Kevin Harvey, Member EXCUSED ABSENCE Gregory T. Casamento, Member Sondra Cochran, Member ALSO PRESENT Anthony J. Catapano, Executive Director Kelly Morris, Deputy Executive Director John McNally, Associate Director Marketing & Outreach Daryl Leonette, Executive Assistant Regina Halliday, Bookkeeper William Wexler, Agency Counsel Andrew Komaromi, Esq., Harris Beach PLLC William Dudine, Esq., Winston & Strawn LLP Barry Carrigan, Esq., Nixon Peabody LLP David Chauvin, Zimmerman/Edelson, Inc. James Madore, Reporter, Newsday Joseph Kellard, Reporter, Long Island Business News Kimberly Scalice, Aide to Legislator Cilmi Robert Trotta, Suffolk County Legislator Douglas Donatelli, Metro Realty The Regular Meeting of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency held in the Conference Room of the Agency, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, H. Lee Dennison Building, 3 rd. Floor, Hauppauge, NY was called to order at 12:45 p.m.
SCIDA MINUTES -2- JUNE 25, 2015 Ms. Minieri welcomed Legislator Robert Trotta to the Meeting of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency. Health Level One, Inc.: Request for an inducement resolution for a lease transaction. Mr. Catapano presented Exhibit A. Mr. Catapano stated Health Level One, Inc. is an analytical testing contract laboratory for dietary supplements, vitamins, phytochemicals and cosmetics. Mr. Catapano indicated the Company is currently in 5,000 square feet of leased space and are purchasing, renovating and equipping an approximately 21,000 square foot building in the Hauppauge Industrial Park. Health Level One is a womenowned business with approximately 9 employees. Mr. Catapano introduced Monica Bhasin, President, Health Level One Inc. and Richard J. Cohen, Ashlind Properties to Board Members. Ms. Bhasin stated she started out at the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton in 2008 and in 2009 she devised the basic framework to establish a testing methodology. Ms. Bhasin indicated she moved to 2,500 square feet of leased space in Shirley in 2009 with a staff of four personnel. In 2011, with increased demands for the company s services she moved to 5,000 square feet of leased space and increased the workforce to 9 employees. Ms. Bhasin stated currently we have a shortage of space and are unable to hire new personnel due to inadequate workspace per chemist. Ms. Minieri asked who are your customers and Ms. Bhasin indicated the Vitamin Shoppe which should create great growth for the company and also has out of State customers. Ms. Bhasin stated that many of her employees are Stony Brook University graduates and have been with her from the inception. Mr. Giordano asked what type of degree is required for your line of work and Ms. Bhasin stated a Bachelors in Science. Mr. Zarcone asked do you pay for health insurance for your employees and Ms. Bhasin stated she intends to pay for it she has to look into some different policies. Legislator Trotta asked what is your current rent rate and Ms. Bhasin stated it is $3,000. Legislator Trotta asked Ms. Bhasin what is your educational degree and Ms. Bhasin said she has a Master s Degree and attended school in India. Legislator Trotta asked what are the benefits to the company Mr. Catapano responded there is a property tax abatement, mortgage recording tax with a total savings of $171,000 over 10 years. Legislator Trotta asked how many customers do you have and Ms. Bhasin stated actively 10 to 12 very large companies. Mr. Zarcone asked Mr. Cohen what his role is and Mr. Cohen stated he is a Commercial Real Estate, Ashlind Properties, and is here to be of assistance to his client. Upon a motion by Ms. Minieri, seconded by Mr. Hendricks, it was: RESOLVED, to approve an inducement resolution for a lease transaction in the approximate amount of $2,400,000 for Health Level One Inc. facility.
SCIDA MINUTES -3- JUNE 25, 2015 Ropack Inc.: Request for an inducement resolution for a lease transaction. Mr. Catapano presented Exhibit B. Mr. Catapano stated Ropack, Inc. is a pharmaceutical manufacturing, packaging, development and lab testing for solid oral dosage forms. Mr. Catapano indicated the Company is a Canadian firm and is interested in purchasing two Forest Laboratories buildings, (49 Mall Drive, Commack and 155 Commerce Drive, Hauppauge). Mr. Catapano stated the Company would like to purchase, renovate and equip the two existing buildings. Mr. Catapano introduced Paul Dupont, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, Ropack, Inc. to Board Members. Mr. Dupont stated he is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and the President of the Company, Yves Massicotte was unable to attend this Meeting. Mr. Dupont indicated that Ropack currently has 350 employees it is a fast growing enterprise. Mr. Dupont said the proposed project will be the Company s first manufacturing operations in the United States. Mr. Dupont stated purchasing the two facilities we help the company it is excellent space and the expansion will help with the manufacturing of over the counter and RX products. Mr. Dupont stated outsourcing is becoming a trend once a client chooses us they usually remain with us. The key to the Company s success is customer service. Legislator Trotta asked where is the manufacturing being done now and Mr. Dupont said in Canada. Legislator Trotta asked how much revenue does the Company make and Mr. Dupond said it is a private company and we do not give out that information. Mr. Zarcone asked if the Company is looking in Nassau and Suffolk County for raw products and Mr. Dupont said it is evolving. Upon a motion by Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Zarcone, it was: RESOLVED, to approve an inducement resolution for a lease transaction in the approximate amount of $29,575,000 for Ropack Inc. facility. Rochem International, Inc.: documents. Request for consent to a SBA mortgage and related Mr. Catapano presented Exhibit C. Mr. Catapano stated Rochem International, Inc. is a distributor of pharmaceutical, food and nutritional ingredients. The project closed on January 13, 2014 and they are requesting consent to a SBA mortgage. Mr. Komaromi was the transaction counsel for this project. Mr. Komaromi stated this request is a resolution to rectify a technical issue and combine the Company s related two realty entities into one realty entity. Upon a motion by Ms. Minieri, seconded by Mr. Harvey, it was: RESOLVED, to approve the consent to a SBA mortgage and related documents for the Rochem International, Inc. facility.
SCIDA MINUTES -4- JUNE 25, 2015 Siena Village GHC Housing Partners: Request to transfer tax-exempt bond allocation to the EDC for the project. Mr. Catapano presented Exhibit D. Mr. Catapano stated Siena Village is the owner, operator and manager of affordable Section 8 housing and they are selling it to GHC Housing Partners. Mr. Catapano stated the Economic Development Corporation is issuing the tax-exempt bonds and they have received an allocation of $30 million from the State and the amount of the IDA allocation is approximately $32 million. Mr. Komaromi indicated this is a technical transfer for the Siena Village project. Legislator Trotta asked how is the IDA helping Siena Village and Mr. Komaromi responded GHC Housing Partners is buying the facility and they are financing it with tax-exempt bonds. Mr. Catapano indicated Siena Village is a not-for-profit and is exempt from real property taxes. The IDA is structuring a PILOT Agreement for the new owner. Mr. Giordano stated we are trying to continue to make it affordable for the tenants of the facility. Legislator Trotta stated this is raising taxes for everyone else in the Town. Upon a motion by Mr. Harvey, seconded by Ms. Minieri, it was: RESOLVED, to approve the request to transfer tax-exempt bond allocation to the EDC for Siena Village. Minutes The Minutes of the May 28, 2015 Meeting were accepted by the Board. Marketing & Advertising: Update on Spring 2015 campaign. Mr. John McNally presented an update to the Board. Mr. McNally indicated the TV and radio advertising will end today the Agency has doubled the amount of hits on the website since the inception. Mr. McNally stated we are pursuing several leads. Mr. Hendricks asked has the website been updated and Mr. McNally we have done some work to it. Mr. McNally stated we purchased flash drives that look like business cards which contain the application forms and informational brochures of the IDA. These flash drives were used as hand-outs for the HIA Trade Show which was held on May 21, 2015. They also are used when meeting with prospective businesses. IDA Reform Legislation NYSEDC The New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC), which represents local, regional and statewide economic development organizations including IDAs, supports this legislation, which it helped create in conjunction with the NYS Comptrollers and NYSEDC member IDAs. The proposed legislation would establish common standards relative to
SCIDA MINUTES -5- JUNE 25, 2015 financial assistance applications and financial agreements, additional criteria for selecting projects and requirements for ending or recapturing benefits. The proposed legislation takes effect 180 days after the Governor signs it into law. Upon a motion by Mr. Zarcone, seconded by Mr. Harvey, it was: RESOLVED, to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency. The Meeting adjourned at 2:25 p.m. The next Meeting of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency is tentatively scheduled for July 23, 2015.