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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-05 Economic Development Committee Minutese� Town of Reading Meeting Minutes CEIVE0 JWM CLERK Board - Committee - Commission - Council: r, 'ISU, MA. SS. Economic Development Committee 14 M AY 2q P 2: 52 Date: 2014 -03 -05 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Berger Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Purpose: General Business Attendees: Members - Present: Karl Weld - Chair George Rio Sheila Clark Liz Krugman Jack Russell Maria Higgins Members - Not Present: Camille Anthony Meghan Young - Tafoya Others Present: Jessie Wilson, Community Development Administrator Jean Delios, Assistant Town Manager - Community Services Tom O'Conner - Reading /North Reading Chamber of Commerce Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Jessie Wilson Topics of Discussion: Call to Order: There being a quorum the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Other Discussion Ms. Delios reported to the EDC that the Town was awarded the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Grant (MDI) to evaluate the option for a Cultural District /Creative Economy. She said that this grant will provide a Consultant to help look at the possibility of Reading creating a Cultural District, utilizing all of the existing creative partners in Town. She added that Ms. Young - Tafoya helped prepare the grant and is very excited to see it move forward. Mr. Weld said this is a great opportunity and feels that creating something like a Cultural District will only give people more reason to come to Reading. Approval of Minutes: On a motion by Ms. Higgins, seconded by Ms. Clarke the EDC voted to approve the amended minutes from the January 8, 2014 meeting. Motion carried 4 -0 -0. EDC Action Plan Update Ms. Delios provided an update on the Economic Development Self- Assessment Tool (EDSAT) which has been contracted with Northeastern University. The process involves getting staff together to answer a series of questions regarding the permitting process, zoning, etc. The process also involves a community meeting to get an idea on where the Town stands in terms of Economic Development and compare staff Page I 1 answers with community responses. This will tie into the development of the Economic Development Action Plan which will be developed by Staff or with the assistance of MAPC through a District Local Technical Assistance Grant. Chamber of Commerce Discussion Mr. Tom O'Connor from the Reading /North Reading Chamber of Commerce as their Government Affairs Representative was present. He joined the meeting as he felt it is useful to understand what is going on in Town. He said that North Reading is starting a new Economic Development Committee and they are looking at Reading as an example. He also reported that the Chamber has rented a small office space for the Executive Director in the Downtown. The EDC was glad to see the Chamber's presence and would encourage the Executive Director to join a meeting. EDC Budget Ms. Wilson discussed the EDC budget for 2014. The EDC reviewed the budget and began to talk about the Building Fagade and Signage Improvement Program (BFSI). The encumbrances for the BFSI include the Family Dental Project and a few of the other projects previously awarded. There are a few projects that were never encumbered because the information was not provided; however, she noted there is money allocated into that line item for all the projects. The EDC then reviewed an Application for a Blade Sign from The Flower Shoppe of Eric's under "Targeted Improvements" of the BFSI Program. They discussed the option for a multi- tenanted blade sign, but determined it may not be allowed under zoning and may not work well with the existing awning. On a motion by Ms. Higgins, seconded Mr. Rio , the EDC voted to award 50% of the project cost up to $400 to The Flower Shoppe of Eric's towards the cost of a blade sign. Motion carried 4 -0 -0. The EDC also reviewed an application from Pamplemousse to be reimbursed up to 50% of their blade sign which was previously permitted and installed. Mr. Weld felt that the program is to encourage new signs and not do this retroactively. However, he did say that maybe the group should consider modifying the program to help get signs into compliance that currently does not conform. The EDC also discussed the Family Dental plans. Ms. Wilson said they have submitted for Site Plan Review and will be before the CPDC on March 24'h. The program requires a building permit to be secured by April 1". The Applicant is moving forward, but. Ms. Wilson said there is a good chance she could miss this deadline. On a motion by Mr. Rio, seconded by Ms. Clarke, the EDC noted to extend the award deadline for Family Dental to April 17, 2014. Motion carried 4 -0 -0. The EDC suggested to Mr. O'Connor to apply for the program. He replied that they are starting to think about doing some improvements to the Reading store, however, they do not have any definitive plans. In regards to the budget the EDC agreed to allocate $4,150 for the flowers for the 2014 season. On a motion by Ms. Clarke, seconded by Mr. Rio, the EDC voted to allocated $4,150 for the hanging flowers for the 2014 season. Motion carried 4 -0 -0. Board of Selectmen Meetina 2/25/2014 Reca Mr. Weld told the EDC that during the meeting he proposed reorganizing the committee into two subcommittees that would work on 1) Retaining existing businesses and 2) Working on economic development and recruiting new businesses. He believes it would require a bylaw change and the EDC would need to determine if more members are necessary. The Board of Selectmen (BOS) seemed to like the idea. On a side note, Mr. Weld said that Ms. West requested the EDC survey all the recipients of the BFSI Program and of the Retail Visioning Program. She wanted to make sure the town is spending the money on the right programs. Ms. Wilson and Mr. Weld agreed to work on that. Page 1 2 Overall he said the BOS is complementary on what the EDC has accomplished and they are interested in the idea of two subcommittees. Ms. Clarke said she liked the idea and added that she will be stepping down from a voting member. In regards to voting members, Mr. Weld did not think they needed more voting members, but more bodies to help with each subcommittee. Ms. Clarke said that it is hard to recruit people to join committees because of the tremendous time commitment. Mr. Weld also reported that he received an email from RMLD noting how low rates are in Reading for electricity. He said that for large technology companies this could be a draw to come to Reading — especially if they have very large servers that require a lot of electricity. He also pointed out that the Town Manager has talked to MassDOT about their depot facility off Rt 129. The idea would be that the Town would purchase that land and move the DPW operations there. This would then free up more are behind RMLD. Ms. Wilson provided some additional updates on development around Town. Mr. Weld agreed all topics have been covered in the WorkPlan and Economic Development Update. On a motion by Mr. Rio, seconded Ms. Higgins the EDC voted to adjourn at 9:00 PM. Motion carried 4 -0 -0. Respectfully submitted, Jessie Wilson, Community Development Administrator Page 1 3