Town EDA Fine Tunes Its Vision and Mission Processes After Council Approves Operational Funding

The Front Royal Economic Development Authority (FREDA), now also known as the Town’s “Business Development Board” (BDB), held its regular meeting of March at noon, Monday, March 4, in the Town Hall second floor meeting room. In addition to its full complement of board members, Chairman Rick Novak, Vice-Chairman Nick Bass, Robert Elliott, Aiden Miller, David Gedney, Frank Stankiewicz, and Tom Eshelman, staff present included Town Manager Joe Waltz, Town Director of Community Development and Tourism Lizi Lewis, Secretary Hillary Wilfong, and Director of Information Technology Charles Hutchings, the latter handling the live-stream broadcast duties.

The FREDA board and staff continue to fine-tune a path forward as they and the town’s elected officials move closer to having assets in place to allow it to actively pursue its recently finalized mission and vision statements. As reported following last month’s meeting, when those two guiding statements were approved by matching 5-0 votes, they read:

“Vision Statement: To sustain and grow a healthy economy that provides opportunity and protects the characteristics that make Front Royal a unique community” and:

“Mission Statement: To provide leadership necessary for Front Royal to optimize economic opportunity and community improvement.”

The FREDA board and staff get down to fine-tuning processes as they move closer to operational funding and viability. Below, Director of Community Development and Tourism Lizi Lewis and Town Manager Joe Waltz hold down the staff side of the meeting table. Royal Examiner Photos Roger Bianchini

And there was good news on the funding front, as Board Chairman Novak and Town Manager Waltz confirmed town council approval of the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) initiating Town funding of FREDA and its mission. “So, last Monday council did approve the MOU that basically stipulates the operational and financial support for FREDA, which is a great thing,” Waltz said following Novak’s acknowledgment of council’s MOU vote.

As has also been previously reported, while established in 2022, certain oversights by Town administrative personnel predating Waltz and Lewis, most notably a failure to establish a Federal Tax ID required for FREDA to legally conduct business, has put it operationally on hold for going on two years. But with basic funding now in place along with federal certification, as reported last month FREDA hopes to announce their first-step projects in coming weeks. Currently, the group’s focus is on 5 key areas: workforce development, infrastructure, new business development, existing business support, and asset development.”

So, the bulk of Monday’s March meeting discussion was spent on these and related themes, most specifically, “Goal Setting, Existing Businesses, Workforce Development and Recruiting, Asset Development, and Open Pad sites where existing commercial development exists, as well as potential developmental sites currently undeveloped but dealing with issues like flood plain restrictions. And there was one old sore point for the East Main Street-anchored Historic Downtown area readdressed, parking.

In fact, when very positive discussion of re-development plans for the old Murphy Theater building presented recently by Rob MacDougall’s Transform Development company was brought up, the old limited downtown parking issue was resurrected. It was noted that while plans are to maintain the Dynamic Life Coffee Shop at the building’s front, downtown business man, developer, and County EDA board member MacDougall has a vision to restore much of the remainder of the building where the initial theater area was, into a live musical venue that could eventually see other types of shows hosted.

There could soon be some transforming going on at the old Murphy Theater building, at least in the center sections where portions of the old theater area give the building its distinctive height variation. The reaction was enthusiastically positive to the Rob MacDougall/Transform Development proposal for the building.

While calling the Murphy Theater building redevelopment plan “a huge undertaking” Community Development and Tourism Director Lewis, also observed that it would be “a cool, vibrant anchor” business for downtown Front Royal. “So, where’s that downtown parking deck going?” some wondered.

As the issue of Workforce Development and Recruiting was raised, Lewis offered to set up site visits for the FREDA board to the Blue Ridge Tech Center and Laurel Ridge Community College, two prominent youth training and educational sites. The board was open to the idea, with dates to be set.

As the meeting wound down, Chairman Novak suggested April 1 for the normal first Monday of the month’s regular meeting. However, after observing that as things are progressing, he believes the FREDA board should meet every two weeks, he suggested adding a meeting date of March 18, starting a half hour later than normal, at 12:30 p.m. Both dates were agreed to by the board. The noon-convened March 4 meeting was then adjourned at 1:25 p.m.

Click here to watch the Front Royal Economic Development Authority (FREDA) March 4, 2024 Meeting.