Economic Development Commission
Meeting Minutes
December 2, 2014 5:00pm
City Hall Auditorium
Attendance: JoAnn Ryan, Ed Cannata, Bill Battle, Lisa Soliani, Erin Wilson
Meeting called to order at 5:27 PM.
A motion to open the meeting to the public was made by Bill Battle and seconded by Lisa Soliani.
A vote was made to approve the meeting minutes for May 6, 2014 and meeting minutes for August 5, 2014 with the amendment to add Ed Cannata as present to the meeting, motion was made by JoAnn Ryan and seconded by Bill Battle.
June 3, 2014 were not presented or produced, therefore no meeting minutes for that day were voted on or approved.
Economic Development Director, Erin Wilson updated the Commission on the process for the Brownfields grants and let them know that the RFP’s for consultants will be drafted over the winter and that the City hoped to move forward in the spring. Ms. Wilson also discussed the City’s application for the Preservation of Place Grant through the CT Main Street Center. She explained that the grant was for $10,000 to assist the City with a Market Review & Branding Study of Downtown Torrington. She explained that the ultimate goal was to develop a wayfinding program & directional signage for downtown but the market review and branding study were necessary in order to identify what that would look like. She explained that the grant is not the same as the Arts Placemaking Grant, rather an expansion on
the work that was already done by the City.
Ms. Wilson briefly updated the Commission on the Mayor’s Arts Steering Committee which was formed to look at the study done by UConn and the Torrington Development Corporation. The City is looking to support UConn Torrington and trying to cultivate new ideas as to how Torrington can become a creative economy. It was explained that representatives from EDC already sit on the steering committee and will report back to the EDC once the committee starts meeting.
Commissioners discussed the business visitation program. Ms. Wilson explained how the Mayor and she utilized the form that was presented to the EDC. Commissioners were encouraged to interview businesses and to report back to the Commission and act as ambassadors. The information will then be input into the E-Pulse program where the City can track visits and business needs. Ms. Wilson explained that she and the Mayor will be starting a campaign in January where they will visit different businesses twice a month. Ms. Wilson will resend the survey to the Commissioners.
The Commission briefly discussed the Business in Focus Magazine and decided that it was a marketing tool that the City should utilize.
A motion was made to support the effort to work with the Business in Focus Magazine by Bill Battle and seconded by Lisa Soliani – the vote passed unanimously.
A motion was made to approve the 2015 Meeting Schedule as presented with amendments to change January’s meeting to January 13, 2015 and November’s meeting to November 10, 2015 in order to accommodate conflicts, motion was made by Bill Battle and a seconded by JoAnn Ryan – the vote passed unanimously.
JoAnn Ryan briefly updated the Commission on on-going events such as Retail Therapy and Business Shadow day on Feb. 2, 2015 from 10-12:30. Ms. Wilson also updated the Commission on the Naugatuck River Greenway Steering Committee’s upcoming workshop in January and also explained the recent changes with ACT.
A motion was made by Bill Battle to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Lisa Soliani.
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