City of Torrington Economic Development Commission
Minutes September 7, 2010
EDC meetings for July 2010 and August 2010 were cancelled due to summer schedules.
Members Present: Cindy Donaldson, Nancy Sieller, Dawn Gutowski, Jim Thibault, JoAnn Ryan, TJ Zappulla
Members Absent: Mayor Bingham, Bill Battle, George Noujaim, Greg Mele
Commissioner Donaldson called the meeting to order at 5:12pm
Commissioner Sieller made the motion to open the meeting to the public and Commissioner Ryan seconded the motion. Motion carried
2. Approval of the Minutes
Commissioner Sieller made the motion to approve May 4, 2010, minutes Commissioner Gutowski seconded the motion, and Commissioner Zappulla abstained. The motion carried.
4. SWOT
In order to combat the threats that were developed from the SWOT the commissioners felt that it is important to let the community know the accomplishments that are being made. Suggestions included writing a monthly column in the local paper, having the Chamber activities linked to the City’s and improving the communication between business and community. Rose spoke to both the Rep-AM, and Register Citizen representatives and was cautioned against the monthly column. Although at face value it looks to be achievable task, it is a lot more difficult than it seems. Further discussion is warranted before moving forward with this initiative. Commissioner Ryan suggested that we use our existing assets to promote Torrington.
5. ACT Update:
Main Street Marketplace was held every Thursday in July and August.
It was a huge success with 2000 people in attendance most weeks. Discussion centered on the components that made it successful and how do we keep the momentum going. A Fall Festival evening is planned for October 22, and Light Up Main is planned for November 26. The ACT commission has planned these events; however, they want to be more than just event planners. They have an array of other projects they are interested in developing.
6. DiscoverTorrington.com and other Social media portals.
Social networking has proven to be a very successful approach to reaching a larger audience. Rose will look into how Torrington can best utilize these portals.
7. Adjournment- At 6:30 PM Commissioner Sieller made a motion to adjourn, Commissioner Ryan seconded the motion. The motion carried.
| 
