ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES
June 14, 2007
REGULAR MEETING
I. CALL TO ORDER
The Regular Meeting of the Economic Development Commission was called to order at timeMinute40Hour77:40 AM in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. Chairman Louis George and Commission members PersonNameNancy Haase, David Balboni, Mark Deming, Alan Levesque, Thomas Rechen and Charles Minor were present as well as other interested parties. Commissioner Jon Barney was absent.
II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Minutes for the dateYear2007Day10Month5May 10, 2007 meeting of the Economic Development Commission are pending.
III. FIRE DISTRICT DISCUSSION
Fire Marshall, Kevin Kowalski was not present so the planned discussion regarding the movement of the Fire District to a new location was tabled until the Fire District could be represented at a future meeting, possibly July 12th.
IV. DISCUSSION
RIVER OAKS – The application has been filed. Further discussion on the River Oaks Project will be scheduled for the July meeting or for a special meeting. T.J. Donahue will be bringing an economist to present to the commission.
Dave Balboni commented that it may be premature to listen to an economist when the project hasn’t been through the land use boards yet.
Lou indicated that when the EDC makes their final recommendation it will be made based on all of the information provided and that this presentation is the beginning of that process.
WIFI – Commissioner Levesque reported on the placeCityNewton, StateMA WIFI conference that he attended. He will e-mail PowerPoint presentations to the other commission members.
The conference focused on how a town can save money, operate better and offer more to it’s residents if it makes the decision to offer and support WIFI. Some of the highlighted uses are:
§ Automatic meter reading
§ Ability to have the Fire Dept. and Police Force on a common platform
§ Online security cameras
§ Traffic monitoring
§ Data Collection for Sewer Treatment plants
Presenters at the conference indicated that in many instances WIFI availability to individuals and business was secondary to the uses listed above.
There were also presentations from other towns (with higher population densities) that have implemented WIFI capability. placeCityNewton, placeCityCambridge and placeCityBrookline, StateMA were among the towns that were represented. The more dense the location, the better the business model.
Key to successful implementation: Define users, determine need, develop a plan for how the return of investment will be accomplished and coordination with the Town’s IT Manager.
Lou asked how a model is developed and how are fees estimated. Alan responded that the Town of placeCityCambridge is set up with free access in the center of Town and in a certain circumference that radiates out from the center. He also indicated that the conference described the many different models that an implementing town would be able to choose from and he provided a brief description of a few of the models that were presented.
placeCityNancy felt that the inclusion of the Fire, Police and WPCA in the planning process made sense.
Discussion continued regarding what the Commissions next steps should be. All agreed that an analysis of the overall benefit to the Town vs. the cost should be the most important consideration.
Website – PersonNameNancy Haase reported that she continues to have discussions with Jeff Vose of MHA regarding the Town’s website.
placeCityNancy took a look at Tolland’s website and found it to have many valuable resources, including good links and zone maps. There was a lot of infrastructure information and it also provided good resource information/links.
The Commission discussed CROG’s GIS map link and how placeCitySimsbury should get their maps updated and accurately represented on CROG’s system. All agreed that IT intern assistance would be helpful. placeCitySimsbury’s home page now has an ED link.
Fees Ordinance – Lou confirmed that a letter from the Commission went to the BOS on May 10th. He reviewed the letter’s content with the other member of the EDC.
The Commission discussed the revised ordinance. The Commission members stated their opinions and they remained generally unchanged from those expressed in the May 10th EDC meeting. Six members remain against the implementation of the ordinance and one remained in favor of it.
An updated letter will be sent by Lou with the EDC’s updated comments.
PersonNameSarah Floroski from addressStreetMain Street commented that she feels that a letter is not enough and that a presence at the next meeting was necessary. She also indicated that currently placeCitySimsbury is not viewed by developers as a Tier I community and that this ordinance would make placeCitySimsbury even less desirable to developers.
V. REPORTS
Selectman Update – Dave Ryan provided updates to the EDC on the following:
Public Hearing regarding the proposed Fees Ordinance that will take place next Monday.
Ferg Jansen commented that the Planning Commission voted 5 to 1 against approving the Fees Ordinance in its current form. He also indicted that he felt that it represented a big economic development issue.
addressStreetMain Street – Sara Floroski provided the EDC with an update on the following addressStreetMain Street activities:
placePlaceNameTalcott PlaceTypeMountain Music Festival – addressStreetMain Street would like to see it have more of a true Festival atmosphere.
addressStreetMain Street’s Preserve America Gala was a huge success. They were fortunate to have great community support.
The Heritage Tourism Campaign is moving forward.
Mark Deming asked if addressStreetMain Street was working with area restaurants to promote business during the TMMF? Sarah indicated that they are working with local business and that links to the Hartford Symphony’s website have been established. Area restaurants are offering specials for TMMF attendees.
Rich Correia reported on the Main Street Awards Ceremony that took place in Winsted on June 11th. Sarah was awarded Main Street Director of the Year and the Yakemores were given the Hero’s Award.
The MS second annual sidewalk sale is planned for July 20th and 21st. Planned activities include: Entertainment, Demo’s and a “Touch a Truck” event.
Director of Community Planning and Development Update – Hiram Peck was not present.
FVA – Nancy Anstey reported that City & Country Canvases will have an art sale during the TMMF on July 20th. They will be offering a package of: Friday night at the Simsbury Inn, 2 lawn seats for the show and a light boxed dinner from Fitzgerald’s. It will be offered on the website
Additions: Nancy Haase commented that thought should be given to possibly getting placeCitySimsbury businesses into a Guest Guide that the Hartford Business Journal provides to placeCityHartford hotels.
VI. Project review
Developers Day –Tom Rechen reported that the announcement for the event will go out June 14th. The invitation should go out shortly thereafter. The event will be held at the Simsbury Inn and a continental breakfast will be provided. Tom Vincent and Lou will do brief presentations before the tour starts. The list of 6-8 highlighted properties still needs to be finalized. A visual display of selected properties at the Simsbury Inn will be coordinated with Hiram Peck. Notice will be given to the public, the Chamber and Tourism asking that any property owner who wants to be considered for the tour contact the EDC. Possible tour speakers will be Rich Correia, Rich Sawitzke and a representative from River View. Volunteer help from other
EDC members will be needed.
Metro placeCityHartford placeCityAlliance – Jeff Vose was not present. Lou reported that the Mystic conference that he and Nancy attended was very interesting and shared the highlights with the commission members. He feels that the MHA will play a very important role in placeCitySimsbury’s future economic development goals and strategies.
Airport Fly-In – Chuck Minor and Lou met with PersonNameSarah Floroski and PersonNameBill Thomas to discuss the Fly-In that will take place over Columbus Day Weekend. The Fly-In is part of the National Pilots Convention that will be held in placeCityHartford. placeCitySimsbury has been designated as one of the reliever Airports where planes will be able to land for the event. They agreed that placeCitySimsbury’s participation in the event will need to be scaled back due to the inability to staff the event and the time of year that being held. The EDC will need to wait for Bill Thomas to get back to them before they move forward in the planning process.
Chuck Minor will continue to head up the EDC’s participation in this event and will work with Lou.
Dave Ryan commented that the Board of Selectmen voted to continue the consultant selection process for Airport Study.
VII. NEW BUSINESS
Nancy Anstey asked to be placed on the next EDC meeting agenda.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Levesque made a motion to adjourn; it was seconded by Commissioner Deming and the dateMonth6Day14Year2007June 14, 2007 meeting of the EDC unanimously adjourned at timeHour9Minute209:20 AM.
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