TOWN OF FARMINGTON
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday – December 10, 2008
356 Main Street, Farmington
Members Present: Barry Elliot (left at 8:25am), Sylvia Arcouette and Cindy Snowdon
Members Absent: Sharla Rollins
Selectman's Rep: Paula Proulx
Town Staff Present: Dan Merhalski, Director of Planning and Community Development
Chairman Paula Proulx called the meeting to order at 7:17am.
1. Review of Minutes:
Barry Elliot motioned to approve the November minutes as amended to reflect the correct spelling of Sylvia’s name, 2nd Sylvia Arcouette. Motion carried.
2. Update on Rte. 11 Re-Zoning:
Paula asked Dan to update the EDC on what the planning board has planned for a Route 11 re-zoning. Dan explained that the planning board, following the EDC’s recommendation, look at re-zoning Route 11 to promote business. He explained that the Collins & Aikman and SAMCO/WEDCO sites will be Industrial Business (IB) and the other sections of Route 11 will either be Commercial Business (CB) or Commercial Business/Industrial Business Overlay (CB/IBO), as marked on the maps. Dan said that the reasoning behind the changes was to make it easier for businesses to come to town. The planning board also made it easier for businesses by setting a policy that if a business is proposing construction less than 1000 square feet or no new construction or at all then they would go through administrative
review and not have to go through the planning board process. Barry commented that this is a step in the right direction because it reduces the amount of time it takes to open a new business, but he feels the town still needs a more comprehensive plan for Rte. 11.
3. Review Expenditure Report:
The committee was reviewing the expenditure report before working on their budget proposal. It was noticed that $50.01 a week was being paid for the town website maintenance. It was discussed that the committee was unsure if this expenditure should be coming from this account. Paula informed the committee that originally the virtual town hall payment cam from this line because the EDC initiated it, which is why the maintenance probably continued from the same account. The EDC decided to leave the budget as is with sub-headings underneath in order for projects to be tracked. Barry also commented that someone should research the town web page to see what else is available that would be better and more cost effective.
Paula asked Dan if he had any ideas for budgetary items. Dan said the only thing he can think of is consultants for exploration of a TIF District and that the EDC will most likely be researching and planning projects during the next year. Dan said that he can put together a justification presentation for a TIF District but to get the true numbers a consultant would need to be hired. Dan will also look into the cost of reproducing the “manuals,” so this cost could be added to the budget. The consensus was to request $10,000 again this year with the TV and website maintenance still coming from these lines.
4. Local Business Surveys:
Dan stated that he received 20 surveys back which is a 45% return rate. The EDC reviewed the results and draft letter Dan created to the Selectmen. The committee approved the draft letter and Dan will forward it. The committee also tasked Dan to follow up with a thank you letter and copy of the survey results to all the survey participants.
5. Other:
A. The EDC asked Dan or Paula to forward a recommendation to the Selectmen that they remove the EDC members who have not been attending for awhile now.
B. The EDC discussed having Nicole at the Farmington TDBanknorth branch take Sharla Rollins’ place on the committee or act as an alternate for the meetings she is unable to attend.
Meeting adjourned at 9:02am.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
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