MEETING MINUTES
September 1, 2015
Economic Development Office, Old Saybrook Town Hall
7:30 pm
CALL TO ORDER
Chair called the meeting to order at 7:35 pm
ROLL CALL
Members Present: Joseph Arcari, Carol Conklin, David Cole, Bruce Greenfield, James Keating, Matthew Pugliese, Sandra Roberts, Elizabeth Swenson
Members Absent: John DeCristoforo
Staff Present:
Susan W. Beckman, Economic Development Director
Chris Costa, Zoning Enforcement Officer
PUBLIC QUESTION & COMMENT - none
REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Approval of Minutes: August 13, 2015 Meeting
MOTION: To approve the minutes of the August 13, 2015 EDC Meeting. MADE: by J. Keating SECONDED: by D. Cole. VOTED IN FAVOR: J. Arcari, C. Conklin, D. Cole, B. Greenfield, J. Keating, S. Roberts; OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None ; APPROVED 6-0-0
B. Correspondence & Announcements
a. A copy of the letter sent to Attorney Royston in response to his letter of July 9 was shared. The letter thanks him for his input and that the EDC will consider all of his comments along with those of other property owners and the community. The letter explains that the EDC plans to hold public input sessions to discuss and hear comments from property owners and the community regarding any proposed zoning and map changes in Mariner’s Way. The letter was returned to sender due to an incorrect PO Box address and resent to the Elm St. address.
b.OS Chamber of Commerce Membership Renewal is $100. The chamber is asking members to consider an additional contribution to the Capital Reserve Fund of $25, $50 or more to support and sustain their technology and infrastructure.
c. OS Business Expo – SCORE wants to share a table with the EDC. SCORE and the EDC will both pay $75 directly to the Chamber for the joint table on Oct 29.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Mariner’s Way Zoning –
C. Conklin began review of the Information Packets for property owners. C. Costa explained that each of the three Petitions are a separate application. The packets are broken up based on the current zoning of the property and will provide information on each petition that affects the property owner.
Discussion continued on how to present the information at the Public Input session. The EDC talked about splitting the Public Input sessions into two sessions. Petition #1 and #2 could be in one session and Petition #3 in another.
E. Swenson joined the meeting at 7:45pm.
Question was asked about the number of properties affected. There are 175 properties within the mapped areas. Owners of multiple properties will only receive one copy of each of the applicable information packets if they own multiple properties.
The EDC read and reviewed the general letter that will accompany each packet. Use: “After many months of study…”. It was also suggested to use the term “Mariner’s Way Overlay” J. Keating volunteered to rewrite the cover letter so that property owners will have a better understanding of why the EDC is proposing a zoning overlay and changes. He will use phrasing that will be understood by those who may not be well-versed in zoning terminology. C. Costa suggested also putting information in the letter about the timing of the applications in the winter of 2015-2016 to help the Zoning Commission notify property owners of the upcoming petitions.
M. Pugliese joined the meeting at 8:10pm.
The EDC reviewed the Pedestrian Node. The prototype Packet was missing a page that provides text describing the Pedestrian Node which is being written.
Commissioners reviewed Petition #3 Mariner’s Way Zone Text Change in the Industrial Zone. Suggestion was to use bold text “THE PROBLEM” rather than “The trouble is”. Break down the Petition overview into sections such as THE CONCEPT, THE CHALLENGE, THE PROPOSED SOLUTION, DEFINITION, etc. as appropriate. Don’t use check marks, use bold text headings instead. Use “The Commission proposed a new overlay” at the end of the Petition #3 overview page – the word “recommendation” is redundant.
The EDC wants to use larger 11x17 maps for the property owner information packets. The map needs to have wetlands in the Legend. There should also be a “decoder” so that EDC Presenters know the codes for the zones. S. Beckman will create a decoder of all the zone codes for the town. S. Beckman will work on creating PowerPoint pages that highlight the zones.
E. Swenson suggested giving two week notice for the Public Info Sessions.
S. Beckman and C. Costa will work on coordinating the paper colors to match the zoning maps if possible.
Suggestion was made to have the next meeting of the EDC in the 2nd Floor conference room to review the zoning maps.
NEW BUSINESS - none
PUBLIC QUESTION & COMMENT – none
DIRECTOR’s REPORT – none
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: To adjourn the meeting at 9:27 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Economic Development Commission on September 10, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at 302 Main Street, Town Hall, EDC Office, First Floor; MADE: by D. Cole SECONDED: by B. Greenfield VOTED IN FAVOR: J. Arcari, C. Conklin, D. Cole, B. Greenfield, J. Keating, M. Pugliese, S. Roberts, E. Swenson; OPPOSED: None; ABSTAINED: None ; APPROVED 8-0-0
Respectfully Submitted,
Susan W. Beckman
Economic Development Director
Acting Recording Clerk
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