EDA announces green initiatives, historic bank building donation, Boxvana bankruptcy settlement
BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Martin County can look forward to a new outdoor amphitheater in the courthouse square in Inez. Economic Development Director and Deputy Judge/Executive Carolea Mills announced in an EDA meeting Oct. 18 that Martin County Solar Project developers agreed to sponsor the project.
“It’s a pavilion-type facility where you could have large concerts and that type of thing,” Mills said. “It’s $25,000 and they agreed to do that and sent us a check already.”
Mills secured two estimates for $22,000 and $23,000.
“That would leave us a little money for lighting,” she added.
“We do have a little facility out there now, but it’s a shelter and it’s on the ground. We’re blessed to have it, but a stage is supposed to be elevated.”
The new stage will be a raised platform 3 feet off the ground with stone around the bottom. It will be located behind the Historic Martin County Courthouse.
“We can have seating from the old courthouse all the way down behind the new courthouse,” remarked Mills. “We want to make that area something you will be proud of. You see that in all the downtowns—everybody has a nice stage. It will cost us the $25,000 donation and we will start building on that next week and have it by Christmas in the Mountains.”
Solar Holler green energy initiative
The board also gave Mills the green light to secure estimates from Solar Holler of Huntington for rooftop panels at the business center and the spec building on Honey Branch. Mills pointed out that the business center has a flat roof and the spec building is on top of the mountain in full direct sunlight. She explained the current rebates and tax incentives equate to a 70% savings on the installation cost.
“It would pay for itself in two years, and then we wouldn’t have an electricity bill,” she said, adding that panels on the business center would generate enough electricity to supply the building next door, which is the government center.
Mills will secure the estimates on the solar panels and report back to the board.
Historic bank building donation
EDA chairperson James Ayers announced that Inez resident Linda Booth wants to donate the 100-year-old original Inez Deposit Bank building to the EDA. The board voted to accept the conveyance after a review by the county attorney.
Mills is working to get the building on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We will attempt to save it if we possibly can,” Mills commented. “It looks like we will be able to get it on the National Register. That’s exciting.”
Ayers stated it is a “great opportunity for the EDA to continue to lead in downtown revitalization.”
Boxvana bankruptcy settlement
Ayers announced the authority received a payout of $40,343 from Boxvana’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy Sept. 8. The EDA had officially claimed $118,428 in back rent for the building the tiny-home manufacturer occupied in the Eastern Kentucky Business Park in Debord.
“That is what was left over,” Ayers said, directing board members to look at documents in their meeting packets. “The way bankruptcy works, as you file claims, those claims are prioritized. Once it was all figured out, that was the amount the bankruptcy court awarded us.”
Ayers added, “At minimum, we were able to recoup the attorney fees that we’ve incurred for the last year and a half or so.”
Boxvana opened in January 2020 in the building on Honey Branch and began manufacturing luxury tiny homes just as the economy began one of its largest dips in the nation’s history due to the coronavirus pandemic, an unforeseeable misstep. By spring 2022 Boxvana had fallen behind on rent and had acquired six figures in penalties owed to the EDA. Though the EDA sought a resolution for months, Boxvana extended its stay by filing for bankruptcy in August 2022, effectively avoiding eviction. In October 2022, the EDA rejected a lease renewal, but it was not until May 2023 that Boxvana vacated the building.
Other business
In other EDA business:
• Ayers informed the board that three EDA checking accounts had been converted to sweep accounts – a specialty bank account set up to retain a certain cash balance for immediate business expenses. Any excess funds are automatically swept daily into an interest-bearing account, such as a savings account. Instead of sitting idle and earning 0.2%, the EDA’s money will earn 3-1/2%.
• Mills noted the electricity bill on the vacant spec building at Honey Branch had been running about $1,200. However, she switched most of the breakers off and cut the bill in half.
• The board approved securing estimates for signage at the Martin County Business Center to accommodate TEK Center.
• The board approved getting quotes for roof repair at the business center.
• The board approved Braden Mills of Inez for landscaping the trees at the business center at $6,000, a savings of more than half the $13,000 price from the previous landscaper.