Minutes~Farmington Downtown & Business Comm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nov. 19, 2009
~
Meeting called to order by Chairman Rich Stanley at 6:05PM.~ Members present:~ Ann Titus, Joan Funk, Rich Stanley, JoAnn Doke, Keith Henderson and Joan K.
Deb Scanlon asked to be excused.
~
610-6:20 PM- Non-Public
~
Discussion followed re: calling Rich or Megan w/ absences to ensure we have a quorum or the meeting could be postponed rather than having 3 show up & waste time.
~
Rich welcomed new members Keith Henderson & Joan Kotsiroplos.
~
Ann motioned to accept minutes from Oct.~ Joan Funk seconded.~ All in agreement.
~
Passport update:~ Even though Jeanette will have the passbooks available- the board decided to postpone the program until January, running the program thru Feb w/ the possibility of the drawings at Town Meeting in March-~ Rich will speak to Kathy Seaver to see of this is allowable.~ We decided to give each participating business 25 booklets to hand out.~ Joan Funk will take care of getting paper, ink cart etc to Jeanette.~ JoAnn reported that she had secured a $100 savings bond from Holy Rosary Credit Union for a prize.~ Rich will ask if a representative from HRCU would like to attend a meeting.
Signage:~ Joel Moulton is waiting for the State then he will contact Rich.~ We discussed having a sign similar to the services one in downtown Rochester.~ No decision at thie time until we hear from Joel.
Highlighting businesses:~ Discussion followed re: the ribbon cuttings for new businesses.~ Keith brought up that the established businesses should be recognized as well.~ Possibly a promo on Ch. 26- Joan Funk will discuss these issues w/ Robert Hall FCTV-26.
~~ We decided to highlight Marie's Restaurant in the Puddledock as they are having a toy and food drive for the needy.~ We will go as a group to donate a toy or food and have a photo op.~ Ann mentioned that perhaps we could meet as a group and go to restaurants before our meetings, to support them and also to see if there is anything we could do for them.
Ribbon Cutting:~ JoAnn will contact Down Home Cafe re: a ribbon cutting, preferably the same time frame as Marie's photo op.~ She will contact members w/ time
Sidewalk concerns;~Acting on Joan K and Keith's concerns on sidewalk signs, Joan Funk spoke to the CEO.~ If we make an issue about the sandwich board signs on the sidewalk, he sees the possibility of issues with shops putting their merchandise on the sidewalk, such as Palmer's, Simply Kids, Village Bouquet, etc.~~ The board is in agreement we do not want to open that can of worms.~ As far as Tim's Kitchen specifically, perhaps he could have his sign affixed to the fence rather than on the sidewalk-No decision made as to who would approach him.
~
Joint meeting w/ Economic Development:~ That committee is waiting for~clearer direction from the selectmen.~ We may have to focus more on the downtown- Joint meeting is not set yet but as always, we are welcome to attend their meetings as individuals.
~
December meeting:~ Joan Funk~motioned to suspend the December meeting.~ Joan K seconded.~ All in agreement.
~
Rich asked the members to bring some ideas to the Jan 2010 meeting regarding goals for the year from our committee- more activities?~ Later hours for businesses with some sort of draw/hook to bring people downtown?
~
The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM with the next meeting to be held January 28, 2010.
~
Respectfully submitted,
JoAnn Doke
~
~
~
| 
