Town of East Windsor
Economic Development Commission
11 Rye Street, P.O. Box 389
Broad Brook, CT 06016
Regular Meeting Minutes
December 17, 2007
Chairman Moffett called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. at the Planning & Zoning Office, 11 Rye Street, Broad Brook, CT.
I. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM
Members Present: Eric F. Moffett, Richard Covill, Jim Richards and Josh Kapelner
Members unable Sharon Aprea, Matt Crossen and Michael Maloney
to attend:
II. GENERAL DISCUSSION:
Meeting Schedule and Location
Mr. Moffett passed out copies of a letter to be sent to Denise Menard, First Selectman, regarding holding meetings at the town hall. This was discussed by the EDC members. Mr. Moffett said that he hoped to be able to sit down with the First Selectman to discuss this.
MOTION: That this letter, as put together by the Commission and signed by the Chairman, be forwarded to the First Selectman.
Covill / Richards / Unanimous
Note: A copy of this letter is attached as part of the minutes.
¾ Annual Report
Mr. Moffett presented the information to be in the annual report. This was discussed briefly by the commission members. Mr. Kapelner said that as the EDC tries to market our community we should get the word out that we are business friendly.
MOTION: To accept the annual report information.
Richards / Kapelner / Unanimous
Resignation of Sharon Aprea
Mr. Moffett noted that he had received an email from Sharon Aprea indicating that she no longer wants to be on the EDC.
Sewer Service Area Map
The Board members reviewed the latest draft of the proposed sewer service area map.
MOTION: That we support the WPCA and the sewer service area map.
Richards / Covill / Unanimous
III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
MOTION: To approve the minutes of October 15, 2007 and the meeting discussion of November 19, 2007.
Covill / Richards / Unanimous
IV. ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION: To adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Richards / Covill / Unanimous
Respectfully submitted,
Marlene Bauer
Recording Secretary
Economic Development Commission
Town of East Windsor
11 Rye Street Broad Brook, CT 06016
December 17th, 2007
Denise Menard
First Selectman
Town of East Windsor
11 Rye Street,
P.O. Box 389
Broad Brook, CT 06016
Dear First Selectman Menard,
This letter is in response to the memo titled “Meeting Schedule 2008” dated November 29th, 2007 address to the East Windsor, Economic Development Commission. In summary, the request to hold our town committee meeting on our regularly scheduled third Monday of each month, in the Town Hall, was denied due to lack of room availability. The memo also suggested the EDC move our meeting to the 4th Wednesday of each month to accommodate our request.
After further discussion, I, along with the EDC board, have several questions and concerns about the availability of meeting room space at the Town Hall for our requested date. First, we see no record of a Town Run Agency/Committee utilizing space. The memo states there is no meeting room space, however, we find no town committee meeting being held during this time frame. Therefore, we ask what town committee has requested or is occupying the meeting room space during our requested meeting date?
Secondly, the suggested 4th Wednesday of each month would additionally saddle our town liaison, Town Planner Whitten. At this time, and during this week, the Town Planner is involved in other after-hours town meetings on Monday and Tuesday as well as the scheduled workday of Thursday night. If we hold our meeting on the suggested Wednesday, our liaison will be working four consecutive nights during this week. We do not find this fair to ask of our liaison to work a fourth night during this week.
Lastly, as responsible town committee members, holding town meetings at our present location of the Town Hall Annex only increases town costs and reduces efficacies for our commission. By eliminating the need to maintain a proper meeting space at the Town Hall Annex, we can reduce the need for additional lighting and heat at this facility thus reducing costs to the town. In addition, the locations of our files, paper and electronic, are maintained at the Town Hall. We can better plan and discusses the issues of the day when we have access to needed files along with access to computers and the Internet. The Town Hall Annex does not give us this efficiency and weakens our discussion process and/or places burdens on the commission to utilize additional days to gather importation information that is readily
available in the planner’s office.
As a volunteer town committee, we, the EDC, do not ask for much, yet our efforts can greatly change the dynamics of our town. We are the front line organization that fosters growth for the Town of East Windsor and we are a minority commission/town agency that has the ability to generate revenue. Our goal to increase business development and revenues will only help this community to achieve some of the financial needs asked of it year after year. The success of the EDC has brought in several businesses that might not have come to town had it not been for the existing support we, the EDC, give to our town.
Ours is a simple request for meeting space to conduct town business in an easily accessible location for the members and the public. Such meeting space will also afford us the available to access files and computers, reduce town costs, and overall become more efficient. By volunteering our time, we are committed to the growth and vibrancy for East Windsor, CT and we are doing something about it. We advocate the same of our town.
We ask that you further review our meeting request and we look forward to positive feedback and outcome from your office.
Sincerely,
Eric F. Moffett
Chairman
Economic Development Commission
Town of East Windsor, CT
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