MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
DECEMBER 8, 2005
I. CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Economic Development Commission was called to order at 7:30 A.M. in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. Present were Chairman Lou George, Commission Members Dave Balboni, Scott Barnett, Mark Deming, Nancy Haase, and Alan Levesque, as well as other interested parties.
II. APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 10, 2005 MINUTES
Alan Levesque made a motion, seconded by Mark Deming, and passed unanimously to approve the Minutes of November 10, 2005.
III. PROJECT REVIEW
Charter Revision – Mark Deming reported there was no update since last month.
Plan of Development – Scott Barnett stated he will remain a member of the EDC until a replacement is found. He has been elected as an alternate to the Zoning Commission and Lou George said this additional contact will benefit EDC.
Application Process Checklist – Lou George reported for Sharon Craig stating this process had stalled somewhat since Bill Voelker was no longer with Simsbury, but the checklist is in the final stages of being completed.
EDC Goals, Website Update – Nancy Haase distributed to EDC members the EDC Town Website Summary (Addendum I). She reviewed how the web page is currently accessed, and she reviewed the proposed additions and changes.
Dave Balboni suggested adding a Tax Incentive Plan link to this page.
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IV. REPORTS
Main Street – Sara Floroski thanked Nancy Haase on a good job of being liaison between EDC and Main Street and reporting to EDC on the Main Street meetings.
Sara said the 3rd annual Main Street Auction that was held in November was a success with great attendance.
The ICSC 2005 was also a success. Forty percent of the audience was elected officials from different municipalities. Preparations for the 2006 event will begin after the first of the year. Sara will once again Co-chair this Conference.
The 50-Plus Marketing Seminar was held. With a very active adult community in Simsbury and surrounding Simsbury, the Seminar educated people to not overlook this market.
Main Street has joined with the Chamber to form a Committee on directional signage focusing on using lamp posts in Town and gateway signage to the Town.
FVVA – Nancy Antsy reminded everyone the FVVA is holding their Open House on Tuesday from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. There was no update on the Simsbury Visitor’s Center signage.
V. EDC INFORMATIONAL WORKSHOP PLANNING
A review was given about the benefits of bringing together Board of Selectmen, Town Commission members, Land Owners, Developers, and Consultants to explain and make better understandable the best use of land and what the market will bear.
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The time frame for this Workshop is targeted for the end of February. All EDC members and those in attendance discussed this topic at length.
VI. CONCERT SERIES UPDATE
Mark Deming had talked to the First Selectman’s office, and they had not finished putting together a report on the reconciliation of the concert series.
Sara Floroski from Main Street shared the information she had on the series. She stated the Talcott Mountain Music Festival had its most successful year ever. Specifically this is the Hartford Symphony. Simsbury leases the land to the Symphony for the five nights of the music festival.
Corporate sales were up 10-15%, ticket sales were up, and attendance was up on all dates. In the past, the Music Festival has either cost the Symphony money or they broke even.
The June 24th concert had over 4,000 people, and the July 4th concert had over 8,000 in attendance. The Four Tops /Temptations concert had 7,500 people, and Sara said the last TMMF concert had approximately 4,500 people.
The Beach Boys concert was not a Hartford Symphony event. Sara said after the concert she spoke with Jim Koplik and others and they were very happy coming to Simsbury and are making plans to come back to do more than one event.
Paid ticket sales for the Beach Boys concert was 3,500 the night of the concert.
Dave Balboni made a motion, seconded by Alan Levesque, and passed unanimously asking the EDC send a letter to the First Selectman requesting a financial reconciliation and a copy of the Contract held with the Beach Boys for the August 2005 Concert.
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VII. CT-EGG/UHART BUSINESS SUPPORT OPTIONS
Lou George reported he had met with the Economic Gardening Group. They are a non-profit organization, and their goal is to provide Towns with business analysis, market information services, etc. to small businesses.
They work with the University of Hartford with businesses that have signed on to provide help. The EGG is looking for another Town to work with 12 businesses. They charge a consultation fee for this service.
Sara Floroski stated her concern was that Main Street has already been doing this as a pilot program for a couple of years now. Main Street works with a different person at the University of Hartford and their group does this for free.
Lou George wanted to know if the program Main Street has could offer these services to non-retail businesses, and Sara confirmed this is being done, however the downtown area is what is focused on.
It was agreed by the EDC members, at this time they will not act on the proposal submitted by CT-EGG.
VIII. NEW BUSINESS/CORRESPONDENCE
It was reported the Planning Commission has had two Saturday morning workshops to develop the policy map. Lou had attended one of these workshops and said EDC has good representation there.
They have worked on the north parcel and the Planning Commission concluded to make this a mixed use area. They have also discussed the south parcel near Route 44. They are working on ideas of improving access off West Mountain Road.
Saturday, December 10th the Planning Commission will be discussing the south east area of the map.
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A question was raised about when the bike bath in Town would be completed?
Alan Levesque made a motion, seconded by Scott Barnett, and passed unanimously to send a letter to request the completion date for this project.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
The EDC unanimously adjourned the meeting at 9:40 am.
Respectfully submitted,
Laurie Lungarini
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