HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-02 Economic Development Committee MinutesV
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Economic Development Committee (EDC), ` June 2, 2010 MINUTES
Members in Attendance: Meghan Young-Tafoya (Chair), Sheila Clarke (Vice-Cl 6a '1,'!A1 1Prah m)ack
Russell, George Rio and Michele Williams met in the Berger Room, Town Hall at 7:00 P.M.
Members Absent: Michelle Ferullo.
Others Present: Town Manager Peter Heckenbleikner
Call to Order: There being a quorum the Chair called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM'.
New Member Updates: Ben Yoder has submitted an application for an Associate Member position. Maria
Higgins has submitted an application as an Associate Member. Both will be reviewed and considered at the
June 22nd BOS meeting. It was suggested that the Chair would submit a letter of endorsement for Mr. Yoder
prior to the meeting since he is not able to attend the meeting on June 22nd
On a motion by Ms. Williams, seconded by Ms. Clark, the EDC voted to approve the minutes from May
19th as amended by a vote of 5-0-0.
Sign By-Law & Passport Update:
Town Meeting has adopted the proposed sign by-law zoning changes a couple weeks ago at Annual Town
Meeting. Ms. Clarke has almost completed the Passport Guidebook for new Reading businesses and intends to
have it sent to the printer within the next couple of weeks. The Chamber of Commerce has agreed to sponsor
the Passport Book and 250 copies will be printed.
Sign By-Law Enforcement & Compliance Update:
Peter reviewed the status of work completed to date to bring signage into compliance by the July 15` deadline.
The inventory is now complete and staff is in process of summarizing the information on a spreadsheet. In
cases where businesses have been already notified of violations that might be effected by changes to the By
laws by Town Meeting, enforcement of those violations will be deferred until Town Meeting acts or December
31, 2010, whichever is earlier. Otherwise, enforcement is on hold until the inventory is complete and EDC
members will be enlisted to help with discussion of the violations and suggestions to help with the correction,
most notably to encourage business owners to schedule some time with the staff of CDD. Peter also reviewed
modifications to Notice of Violations and Compliance letters that reflect a more "customer service" tone.
There was discussion about the logistics and timing of holding a Compliance' Workshop for businesses but it
was determined there would not be a convenient time before the July V t deadline. It was also mentioned that
there have been meetings like for this purpose in the past that have yielded limited attendance by the broader
business community.
Peter also offered to send a revised package of information to the EDC for any further comments and would
help with developing any talking points for the members to use when they approach business to discuss their
situations.
Ask the Town Manager: Peter asked for and received a number of suggestions for his upcoming broadcast
including: establishment of a Downtown Improvement Trust; Status of Wayfinding Project; Fagade Improvement
Program; and highlighting a few new businesses that have recently opened in town.
Work Plan (See spreadsheet for details). Workplan has been redesigned and organized by project with
specific EDC members assigned as leads for each. Any updates should be forwarded to Michele Williams.
Economic Development Activity: Was reviewed and any new adds or,changes were highlighted and
discussed. Updates should be forwarded to Abby as appropriate. Abby was recognized for her work on
keeping the website up to date and refreshed with new information.
Other Business: Peter mentioned briefly there was a request by some downtown businesses to establish
some short term parking spaces for CVS, Pizza, Wine Shop customers but expressed concern about modifying
parking schemes that could undermine all of the progress to date. He also mentioned that Town is finalizing
their review of Permit Software applications and was hiring a consultant to help with planning and
implementation.
On a motion by Mr. Graham, seconded by Ms. Williams, the EDC voted to adjourn at 9:30 PM by a vote of
5-0-0.'
Next meeting is planned for Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
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