Economic Development Commission
Minutes of Meeting— May 14, 2013
The Hudson Economic Development Commission met at the Hudson Town Hall, 78 Main Street. At 7:30 p.m., Chairman Donald Garcia called the meeting to order.
Members Present: Donald Garcia, Christopher Tibbals, Tom Davis, William Sullivan, Sarah Cressy, Michael DiBona
Others Present: Kerin Shea – Community & Economic Development Assistant
Members Not Present: Tony Loureiro, Hugh Gardner, Matt Tucker
Hand-outs (attached herein): 2012 EDC Annual Report, CDBG Grant support letter dated February 2013, Washington St Bridge letter dated 11/20/12, Cabot Ridge letter dated 10/30/12
Election of Chair & Vice-Chair
Mr. Garcia asked for nominations for the 2013 Chairman of the EDC.
Sarah Cressy, seconded by Mike DiBona, nominated Don Garcia to continue on as Chairman.
Vote: 5-0-1, with Mr. Garcia abstaining
Mr. Garcia asked if anyone was interested in being Vice-Chair. Chris Tibbals & Bill Sullivan both expressed interest.
Tom Davis, seconded by Sarah Cressy, nominated Bill Sullivan to become Vice-Chair.
Ms. Cressy seconded the nomination of Biill Sullivan for his in-depth knowledge of the commercial market. This expertise is highly valuable to the EDC.
Tom Davis, seconded by Mike DiBona, nominated Chris Tibbals to become Vice-Chair.
Vote for Bill Sullivan: 3-0-1, with Mr. Sullivan abstaining.
Vote for Chris Tibbals: 2-0-0
Route 85 Construction Update
Ms. Shea asked if anyone had been approached with any complaints or had any concerns? The members noted how well the project was going & remarked how fast it was progressing. Ms. Cressy noted some concern with the right-out only exit by Avidia Bank. Ms. Shea said that she had received a call from Police Chief Stephens on behalf of Durand Chevrolet. There had been some alleged “near-misses” as patrons exiting the right-out only Avidia driveway were only looking left, & not looking for traffic on the right. Durand’s driveway is two-way travel. Ms. Cressy asked how Tuck’s Service was doing. Ms. Shea noted that MassDOT had paved the front of his business and the upgraded drainage had fixed the long-time flooding problem in that area. Mr. Garcia noted that anyone or
any business with traffic concerns should be directed to the Internal Traffic Committee, meeting the last Friday of every month.
Washington St Bridge Update
Ms. Shea asked Mr. Garcia if he had heard anything. He had not. She noted that the last she spoke with Mickey Splaine from MassDOT, they were still waiting for the results of the three potential construction scenarios from the engineers. DOT was disappointed how long this was taking. Ms. Shea also said a new Project Manager was appointed, taking over for Maury Tayarani. She also said a conference call was held between Hudson Selectmen, MassDOT District 3 Worcester, MassDOT Boston & perhaps State Rep Hogan, but did not know the results of that phone call. Mr. Garcia said he would make some inquiries. Our public forum will still be rescheduled, as we need public input for this project to move forward efficiently, safely & most beneficially to the community.
Cabot Ridge Update
The Cabot Ridge apartment complex is nearing its permitting process. A draft decision has been written & should be finalized at the June 13th meeting. The EDC wrote a letter to MassHousing at the start of the project, noting the importance of these commercially/industrially zoned parcels. Once the site was approved by MassHousing, the EDC wrote a second letter to the ZBA, asking them to look at the development from an economic development perspective. The developer was still working on an easement from Wal*Mart for a secondary emergency access. This easement will be part of the Order of Conditions.
New Business
- Downtown Parking – Ms. Cressy noted that several businesses (Chloe, Rail Trail Flatbread & Horseshoe Pub) were exploring the possibility of using Avidia Bank’s South Street parking lot on the weekends. There were concerns about liability, and the lot may need an attendant or some sort of valet service. She also noted that the Gun Shop had rented the lot on South Street, next to the AmVets lot, where the quonset hut used to be.
- Small Business Worksite Wellness Tax Credit – Ms. Shea said that there were changes in the State’s Small Business Worksite Wellness Tax Credit Program. As part of the Community Transformation Grant (CTG), the three participating Towns (Hudson, Marlboro & Framingham) are sponsoring a breakfast seminar for the business communities from those three towns. The date will be June 10, but a final time & location have not been set. Speakers will include a representative from the Department of Public Health & one from Advancing Wellness (a worksite wellness consultant). Would the EDC be interested in helping to sponsor the event?
Don Garcia, seconded by Bill Sullivan, made a motion to help sponsor the Small Business Worksite Wellness Tax Credit breakfast.
Vote: 6-0-0, unanimous
Minutes
Sarah Cressy, seconded by Tom Davis, made a motion to approve the minutes of November 9, 2012.
Vote: 6-0-0, unanimous
Adjournment
Don Garcia, seconded by Sarah Cressy, moved to adjourn at 8:45 PM.
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