Town Of Willington
Economic Development Commission Meeting
Special Meeting Minutes of
June 29, 2015
*Minutes are not official until approved at the next regular meeting.
Attendees: Steven Vera Tom Treiber, Vice Chair/Secretary Jason Bracich
Opened Meeting at 6:46 PM
Public Present: Peter Fairweather, Fairweather Consulting.
Seating of Alternate/Approval of Minutes
On a motion by Tom T. seconded by Jason and approved, Steven was seated for Kim. On a motion by Jason seconded by Steven, the minutes of the June 9, 2015 Special Meeting were approved.
New Business
Correspondence/Email – None
Recording Secretary – Job Description & Pay – It was decided that we would to continue to have job done by EDC members (volunteers) at no cost to the town
Old Business:
Economic Development
- Dunkin Donuts – No change.
FEDEX – Parking lot expansion plans are still in PZC public hearing, which is continued to July 21, 2015.
Love’s Travel Center – No change.
New Business Activity and Contacts – None
- Proposed State Police Firearms Training Facility – we made changes to Kim’s draft letter to state officials for review and finalization. Our letter will be but one piece in the overall response from the town.
Open EDC Activities
Business Directory – We reviewed the documents that Kim provided and the proposed timetable for assembling and distributing the new 2016 Directory. There were concerns about meeting the October 1, 2015 deadline for submitting directory information to Anything Printed. We concurred with Kim’s recommendations for ad pricing ($10 blurb, $50 1/4 page, $75 1/2 page and $110 full page) with one exception. We felt that $45 ($1.88 per month) rather than $50 should be the charge for the 1/4 page ad.
Business Profile – Nothing to report.
Facebook – Jason will send Peter info for link to Willington Business Zones Market Study Website
Market Study – Peter provided the original signed contract for delivery to Robin. Tom T. will handle. Peter said that he would be billing the town on a monthly basis.
Peter has created the Willington Zones Market Study Website (willingtonstrategy.us) and with Jason’s help, he will connect it to our Facebook page. In preparation for the meeting, Peter asked us to prepare a list of stakeholders for him to interview including key employers, developers, realtors, town officials, state agencies and others that would be helpful to the process. We discussed our list with Peter, made a few additions and provided contact information to Peter. Jason will provide Peter with a copy of the complete business listing as well as contact info for Diane Nadeau, CEO for the Greater Windham Chamber of Commerce.
Peter provided the rationale for Benchmark Analysis against 5 Other Towns. After research and discussion, we chose the following towns for benchmarking: Bolton, Mansfield, Putnam, Stafford and Tolland.
Peter wants to meet again with EDC members. We selected Monday July 27, 2015 at 6:30 PM at the Town Office Building. He also wants to schedule a town meeting at the Library after Labor Day (9/7/15). We should pick and publicize a date that will not conflict with other town meetings/activities to ensure a good turnout.
Budget & Housekeeping
Budget/EDC Finances – Steve said that he would arrange to meet with Beni to get a new bill for the Business Networking Meeting.
Commission Vacancies – one alternate position is open.
Meeting adjourned at 8:32 PM
Our next meeting will be on Monday July 27, 2015 at 6:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Treiber
| 
