Town of Farmington
Economic Development Commission
Meeting
July 12, 2006
Minutes
Members Present: Hiram Watson, Cyndi Paulin, Sharla Rollins, Bill Hussey, Paula Proulx, and Paul Weston (Town Administrator)
Guests: Jim LeClair, Rick Reilly, and Ron Howard
Chairman Paula Proulx convened meeting at 7:10am
Old Business:
1. Approval of Minutes:
Hiram Watson moved to accept the minutes as written, Cyndi Paulin seconded. Motion passed with 4 in favor and 1 abstention.
2. Discussion with tenants of the Sarah Greenfield Business Park on neighborhood improvements including the following:
a. Jim LeClair of LeClair Electric stated that the proposed planting of the maple trees would certainly increase the beauty of the property and therefore interest in the available lots. But he had strong concerns about who would maintain them in the future, that somehow the commission would need to be sure to provide an adequate plan for funding the maintenance, one that can't be cut from the budget. He also suggested the commission take a look at the covenants that the property owners within the Park agreed to because he believes many of them should have a lot more landscaping done at this time and that would help with the beautification process.
b. Rick Reilly, of Reilly Signs and the Storage Units, agrees with Mr. LeClair's comments and would love to see a lot more greenery on the other lots because it would also help with the tremendous amount of sand that blows in the wind. Mr. Reilly also commented that there are a number of four wheelers on the property especially on the weekends and he suggested putting up signs to deter this activity. He also mentioned that there are two large dogs within the Park that run free and should be addressed.
c. Paul Weston reported that he was aware that there is a residential unit within the Park and the Town would be taking up the matter with the owner of the property since it is a business only zone.
d. Ron Howard of Coastal Marble and Granite also agreed with the comments made earlier but had a few more notes of interest. First the name Sarah Greenfield Park is fine except there is no Farmington connection. He suggested adding the town name to the sign because changing the actual name of the park at this time would be a huge inconvenience to the current established businesses within the park. Mr. Howard also suggested having a directory sign at the front of the park so that people would know what businesses where within the Park. Lastly he commented that we all need to work on better communication, because for example, the town had to rent an excavator to extract loom by his property when he could have lent them his in exchange for a load of loom to landscape
with.
e. Sharla Rollins inquired on what the Town's long range plans are for the remainder of the land attached to the Park. She commented that the town should consider retailing the gravel and marketing the land on Rte. 11.
f. Paul would like to see the EDC come up with a concrete plan for the beautification within the next month and get approval from the Selectman so that seeding and planting can begin in September.
g. Hiram will get the price for Maple trees and bring to the next meeting. Paul will get him a photo of what the EDC is looking at so that he will have a good idea of how many trees and where they are going.
h. Hiram suggested that maybe the Town could negotiate with Irving to fund the planting of the trees on the first stretch of Rte. 153.
3. Sarah Greenfield Park Sign
Business owners stated that the proposed sign is too small and not readable at night because of the dark background and size. They noted that the current sign is 4X8 and hard to see at night when potential buyers may be driving by. Paul Weston suggested that he and Rick Reilly work together over the next couple of weeks to design two signs that would meet the needs of the Park. The first sign would be a Sarah Greenfield Park sign and the second would be a directory of businesses sign with for sale information for the empty lots. It was noted that a sign with a clear picture of the lots that are for sale might be nice (the example of the library construction sign was used). Mr. Reilly, Paul, Sharla and Hiram agreed to work on the signs' design.
New Business
1. Agenda for next meeting
a. A concrete plan will be made for any planting and seeding and for any signs to be constructed for the Sarah Greenfiel Park.
b. The covenants for the Park will be looked at and any appropriate action planned.
Sharla Rollins moved to adjourn the meeting, Bill Hussey seconded. Motion passed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:55am
Next meeting scheduled for August 9, 2006 at 7am.
Respectfully submitted,
Brandy Sanger
Recording Secretary
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