BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Jointly with
Planning & Zoning Commission and the Economic Development Commission
Special Meeting Minutes
Town Office Building September 24, 2014
Common Conference Room 6:00 P.M.
First Selectman Mailhos called the meeting to order at 6:32 P.M. with the following in attendance: Selectmen Kowalyshyn & Blessington, Planning & Zoning members; Chairman Andy Marco and Economic Development members; Co-Chairman Jackie Silverstein & Jason Brachich (arrived at 6:20 P.M.). Resident Ralph Tulis was in attendance as well.
A. Introduce new board members
The members went around the room and introduced themselves.
B. Discussion: Common goals of the boards
Discussion began regarding the Planning & Zoning Commission and the number of members on that commission. Selectman Kowalyshyn asked Chairman Marco if he thinks it is a good idea to reduce the Commission to 5 members; as they have had trouble making a quorum of late. Chairman Marco stated several other Towns throughout the State are reducing their commissions in size as it is hard to fill the positions. He added that the Willington P&Z Commission currently does not have any alternates and we must have a quorum of 4; and in the event of a regulation change; all members must be present to vote. He added that luckily, that has not happened yet. They have 65 days after a public hearing to make a decision, and if one haven’t been made, then it will automatically default in the
applicant’s favor. Selectman Kowalyshyn asked if decreasing the Commission to five members would hurt the Commission. Chairman Marco stated that he believes it could form a problem if there are not enough people from each party on the board; having five seats might favor one or two of the parties. Selectman Kowalyshyn then asked how we can entice more people to come forward and serve on the Commission. Selectman Blessington stated that being on the PZC is much different than it was 25 years ago. It is almost like a part time job; on top of the meetings, you have workshops and need to attend classes; which is probably a reason why it is so hard to find people to serve on the Commission. Chairman Marco agreed and stated that nowadays, it is more complicated and every applicant has legal representation.
Chairman Marco suggested that the one thing we have to do is a better job on the planning side, rather than weighing everything against the regulations. He gave an example of Blueback Square, where the land designed a certain way that the right business came to it because that is what they were looking for.
Selectman Kowalyshyn added that the EDC is doing a market study, which will be helpful to the whole town. She is hoping to accomplish a vision, once the study is completed.
EDC Co-Chairman Jackie Silverstein added that the RFP is in the early stages; we just need to figure out what we want to get out of it. They are expecting to go out to bid in October.
PZC Chairman Marco stated that we also need to update our POCD, which is due in 2015. There is one consultant that does all of the neighboring towns, and he believes that is good to create connectivity amongst the towns.
Discussion was held on public utilities. Chairman Marco added that it has it’s own restrictions. Ralph Tulis clarified that not all business need public utilities to exist. Selectman Blessington stated that there are a lot ov businesses that do need it. He gave an example of Phelps Plaza, where he can’t remember how many restaurants wanted to go in there, but could not, because of the limited utilities and we were hopeful that someone would go in there, spend a million dollars to fix it up, but it has never happened. He clarified that businesses want to find a place that has a move in condition. Selectman Kowalyshyn clarified that more business have left because of the signage. Ralph Tulis stated that it is private property; and you cannot force the property owner to
move over to public utilities. Selectman Kowalyshyn added that it is also expensive to manage on a Town’s perspective.
Selectman Kowalyshyn added that the State got a TIGER grant to upgrade the rail system, noting that it might be helpful to us as the rail goes right through Willington. She added that we have empty businesses right on the tracks. First Selectman Mailhos agreed, stating that we are in a unique situation where we are right near the interstate and the rails – it is a perfect place to put a rail/truck hub. Ralph Tulis cautioned that you need to take the terrain into consideration, noting that it is not impossible, but could be difficult.
First Selectman Mailhos added that the new tech-park in UCONN will be very close to us; and is expected to bring 2,000 people to the area. She and Superintendent Harding have been discussing how we can market Willington to perhaps get a percentage of people to move here instead. Right now, if anyone is looking near the UCONN area, they are told to move to Mansfield. She added that our schools are competitive and our taxes are much lower than Mansfield and will ultimately go to the same high school (E.O. Smith) later on.
Chairman Marco asked everyone where they thought the center of Town should be, noting that it would be ideal to have a central place for people want to go. We should try to encourage that. Selectman Blessington stated he thinks of something like downtown Stafford Springs; and the closest we have to that is Phelps Plaza; which is not doing that well. Selectman Kowalyshyn added that it would be nice to put another grocery store in there; where the seniors could go and shop. Selectman Blessington warned that we tend to forget that people go into business to make money. We talk about how wonderful it would be to have a local grocery store and it could work if everyone bought locally. He referenced Tolland IGA; when the Big Y went in; the owner stated that he was going to try to
stay in business, but the first week Big Y opened; no one was in the IGA store. We all say yes, we are going to support these guys; but we don’t; we go where the food is cheaper and there is more of a selection. Selectman Kowalyshyn added that Phelps Plaza has a lot of things working against it; such as poor signage and lighting. Ralph Tulis suggested conjoining Phelps Plaza and the old gun shop; cutting off the side street between the two. That would be more community friendly; and the entrance to the plaza would come off of Route 74, not a side street that is hidden. It would allow an easier flow into the plaza. Selectman Blessington asked who is going to put the money into doing something like that. Selectman Kowalyshyn clarified someone might be interested in doing that - it is all in how you market it. She added that if we have a vision, work on the zoning changes to make it appealing, anything is possible. Selectman Blessington said it would be wonderful to get
a developer to do it, but he isn’t going to go in there without wanting to make money. Chairman Marco clarified that we should have a plan in place for the future if someone does decide to move in there and change things around; it would be possible for someone to grow. Selectman Kowalyshyn again referenced the market study, which will tell us what will thrive in that area.
Selectman Blessington stated five years ago, he got in trouble when he said that Willington is perceived to be unfriendly towards businesses; but the PCZ has made such a great improvement since Chairman Marco has come foreard. People now say that it isn’t as bad as it was to work with the Commission. Selectman Blessington told Chairman Marco that we need him to stay on the PZC; people are happy and feel that they are treated with respect and they see that he is working with them.
Selectman Kowalyshyn added that EDC has also done a lot to make the business feel welcome. Chairman Marco clarified that he doesn’t have to like a business; and the PZC needs to decide what is best for everyone. He then added that while the market study is being done, we see how well our zoning regulations support it. Ralph Tulis also suggested contacting a developer to get an opinion from them as to what would fit in here. Chairman Marco also suggested working with UCONN; ask an engineering program to perform a study; which would be inexpensive; they could perform a test with a mock developer against our regulations to see where the irregularities are.
Selectman Kowalyshyn stated that the EDC has so many ideas that they want to do, but run out of time. They have decided to take one on at a time. It is better to take your time and do it right; than to not have it happen at all.
Discussion was held on how we should market people to move to our town. First Selectman Mailhos suggested holding another meeting with the Realtors in town to see how we can market the town. The meeting will be at the Hilltop like the business forum was. Selectman Kowalyshyn suggested each Board chip in some money from their budgets to host it, we could network with the Realtors to try to market the Town. The Principals and Superintendent could also be there to discuss our school system.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:24 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Robin Campbell,
Administrative Assistant
<paste body here>
| 
