Town Of Willington
Economic Development Commission Meeting
Meeting Minutes of
June 24, 2013
Attendees:~~~~~~Kim Kowalyshyn, Chairman~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tom Buccino
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ethan Griswold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Opened Meeting at 6:05 PM
Approval of Minutes: ~
Kim moved to approve the meeting minutes from May 20, 2013. ~Tom B.. seconded. ~The motion passed unanimously.
Old Business:
- Love’s Travel Center and Dunkin Donuts update - There was a public hearing concerning Love’s held on Tuesday May 14th of which the general consensus was unknown. Another is to be held on the Tuesday following this meeting, Ethan will attend if available. No updates on Dunking Donuts.
- EDC Finances – There is currently $150 in the budget until the end of the month. Tom suggested using this to buy a gift for Anything Printed in the form of bottles of wine and glasses. Kim agreed that this would be acceptable to present. Tom was charged with purchasing wine glasses and Ethan with bottles of wine. We will meet to deliver these gifts to Anything Printed on Wednesday at 4:45PM.
- Fall Business Networking – No date for sure, but possibly October 17th. We will need to put together a plan for getting the word out about the event. One possibility would be dividing up the list of businesses and each member of the EDC would contact a certain segment to offer an invite.
- Marketing & Promotion – There was some discussion around how the EDC can act as a resource for Willington businesses and how we can effectively raise awareness about the EDC.
- Tom B had sent some resource documents outlining strategies employed by other towns. These had not been reviewed in great detail by Kim or Ethan at the time of the meeting but would be useful going forward.
- We would like to suggest to the local business that they form a town association. This will take some of the burden of communicating to individual business and organizing them to meet away from the EDC. Our local businesses have also been invited by neighboring towns (Ashford was an example) to join their BAs but this may not be advantageous for them as the businesses already in those towns would receive preferential treatment.
- We should have EDC business cards with our names to pass out to businesses in Willington so they know who to contact. Kim to speak to Anything Printed about this.
- Kim discussed some of the tenant issues faced by businesses located in the Phelps Crossing shopping center. She had been approached previously by concerned businesses who had issues with the general upkeep, maintenance and signage rules of the center. We agreed that it would be helpful if we had an attorney to refer Willington businesses to if they approach us with legal questions. Kim will check with the Board of Selectman to see if the Town Attorney was able to field these inquiries.
- We discussed the New Business Mapping initiative. This would be illustrative document that would be helpful to businesses looking to open in Willington. We agreed that a flowchart would be the best form of presentation. This should be reviewed and worked on every month at the EDC meeting.
New Business:
- Welcome Ethan Griswold – Ethan was welcomed
- New Business Activity and contacts – None.
- Correspondence – None.~
Public Comment:
Ongoing Activities:
- Commission Vacancies – Diane Bouchard from First Niagara Bank is being considered for one of the vacant Alternative Seats. Board of Selectman is checking her eligibility as she is neither a resident nor business owner in Willington. ~
Meeting adjourned at 7:29 PM. ~Next meeting to be held on Monday September 23, 2013 at
6:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Ethan Griswold
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