Town Of Willington
Economic Development Commission Meeting
Meeting Minutes of
September 22, 2014
*Minutes are not official until approved at the next regular meeting.
Attendees: Kim Kowalyshyn Tom Treiber, Vice Chair/Secretary Jackie Silverstein, Chair Ethan Griswold
Tom Buccino
Opened Meeting at 6:01 PM
Approval of Minutes:
On motions by Tom T. seconded by Tom B, the minutes from June 30, 2014 were approved after noting that a typo in the Approval of Minutes section listed February 24, 20014 rather than February 24, 2014.
Public Present:
None.
Economic Development
- Tom T. said there was nothing new to report on Love’s Travel Center (LTC) or Dunkin Donuts. Mycoscience’s application for expansion was approved by ZBA and PZC. EDC was there to support the business at the public hearings.
- Willington Market Study. Kim obtained the RFQ from Hebron that she will forward to members. Ethan will take the lead in customizing it for Willington. He will get a draft back to members in a couple of weeks. Members will have several days to provide feedback. The goal is to finalize the RFQ at our October meeting.
- New Business Activity and Contacts – Pastry4Pets, a business that sells treats for pets and pet supplies received PZC approval with support from EDC and is moving from Stafford to the building that also houses Anything Printed. A Personal Training Studio operated by Tyler Rowett was approved by the ZBA and is moving in to The Mill Works. Tom
B. mentioned that two other new businesses joined The Mill Works - the CRO (lab testing of medicinal marijuana and a satellite office for Passage Foods specializing in sauces.
2014 Action Items
- Business Profiles – Baywood Kennels completed.
- Marketing & Promotion – Ethan will work with an email list prepared by Jackie and send out monthly blurbs on what is new in EDC and information of general interest to our business community. Several items were mentioned including the C-PACE program and the successful QuickBooks training that EDC sponsored at the request of businesses.
- Process Mapping – This project has been pushed back due to EDC’s participation in the upcoming Willington Market Study until 2015.
- Status of EDC Phone Coverage – Ethan reported on the cost of voicemail and related issues. We are not going to pursue a separate phone line at this time. We discussed that those wanting to call EDC should be directed to telephone numbers for the First Selectman’s Office or Land Use.
- Willington Word advertising – Jackie will get the due date for the next edition.
Budget & Housekeeping
- EDC Finances – We have $900 on hand. Jackie will check out a $100 bill (PO) received from CEDA that we did not approve.
- Email –nothing to report.
- Commission vacancies – Steven Vera is interested in the one remaining alternate seat and will attend our October meeting.
New Business:
- Correspondence – None
- C-PACE - Kim reported that C-PACE program is all set to go.
- Fall Business Networking meeting – We decided to push it forward to April 2015.
- QuickBooks Training for Town Businesses – Tom B. reported that 4 of the six business owners/employees that signed up were able to attend. He said that the session run by Padgett Business Services of Windham in July was well received by participants. It should be noted that this training was requested by businesses during our April EDC Business Networking Meeting. Through the efforts of Tom B. and the Greater Windham Chamber of Commerce, we were able to deliver what the businesses wanted.
-Welcome Baskets – Jackie is working on this initiative.
Meeting adjourned at 7:38 PM. Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on Monday October 27, 2014 at 6:00 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Treiber
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