City of Torrington Economic Development Commission
Minutes July 7, 2009
Members Present: Cindy Donaldson, George Noujaim, TJ Zapulla, Greg Mele, JoAnn Ryan, Jim Thibault, Bill Battle
Members Absent: Mayor Bingham, Nancy Sieller
Commissioner Donaldson called the meeting to order at 5:30pm
Open meeting to Public
Commissioner Ryan made the motion to open the meeting to the public and Commissioner Mele seconded the motion. Motion carried
Approval of the Minutes
Commissioner Zappulla made the motion to approve the June 23, 2009 minutes and Commissioner Mele seconded the motion. The motion carried.
Update on ACT and Ct Open House , Mural Project
Steve Criss, chairman of ACT created a wonderful handout naming the top ten reasons to invest in Torrington. They were handed out during CT Open House and it is a very positive handout. EDC and TDC may collaborate in the near future for an event that will promote Torrington to potential investors and developers. The mural project is moving along. The committee meets every Wednesday morning and hopes to have the mural completed by next fall.
Community Builder’s institute: Commissioner Donaldson, Ryan and Thibault attended the economic development course presented by Community Builders and sponsored by Cl&P. The course was very informative and will be repeated next fall. Commissioner Donaldson pointed out that Torrington is already following many of the best practices that were outlined in the course.
Brownfield’s Update: 8 properties have been sent to EPA for eligibility determinations. Once the EPA certifies that they are eligible the Brownfield’s committee will meet again and work with the environmental consultant to determine how much funding will be required and how many properties can be assessed.
Vote to consider business presented by the Mayor and members of the Commission. Commissioner Ryan announced that they have signed a lease with DOT for the welcome center. This is a great step, Commission Ryan has been working on this project for over two years and the lease was a big hurdle to overcome. Various fundraisers are planned to continue to raise the remaining $75,000 for the project. Commissioner Battle inquired whether Lowes would impact local hardware stores and discussions concerning this topic ensued. Consensus was that local hardware stores have their place in the market and Lowes will bring visitors from surrounding towns. Lowes employed 160 people and the official opening will take place July 16th at 10:00 am. Commissioner Ryan reminded everyone
of the 30/50 project which is an initiative to educate the community about the benefits of shopping locally.
Commissioner Zapulla moved to adjourn at 6:40 PM, Commissioner Mele seconded the motion, the motion carried.
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