Town of
Economic Development Commission
Selectmen’s Conference Room
Town Hall
Chairman Lou Bachetti called
the meeting to order at
Members present were Louis
Bachetti, Ron Elliott, Richard Cheney, Maura Gardiner, David Reed and Robert
Schmidt. Also in attendance for a portion of the meeting was Len Slaga from the
Somers Housing Authority
Motion by Richard Cheney and
seconded by Maura Gardiner that the minutes of the previous meeting be approved
without change. All members present voted in favor of the motion.
Correspondence
None
Len Slaga- Somers Housing
Authority
Len Slaga, Chairman of the
Somers Housing Authority, provided the commission with an overview of
Woodcrest’s current and future development plans. The presentation was extremely
informative and included handouts of the organization structure and renderings
of the proposed renovation and construction. Discussion followed with primary
interest and concern relating to tying the project into a Village District
Concept which would allow residences to have safe and convenient access to the
local merchants and businesses. The EDC appreciated the comprehensive overview
provided by Len and would like to formally thank him for his professional
presentation.
Somers Business
Association
Ron Elliott updated the group
concerning the activities of the Somers business steering committee. The
committee has scheduled a Business and Merchant Expo to be held on
Status of the of Somersville Mill
David Reed commented that he
had met with the first selectman and that there was nothing new to report on the
status of the mill. It appears that there is still confusion concerning the
status of a potential new owner and that nothing has been filed with the town
clerk conveying the property’s ownership. After some discussion a motion was
made by Maura Gardiner and seconded by David Reed that the commission meet with
the selectmen and the town’s attorney to discuss the issues and the town’s
strategy concerning the mill. Dave and Lou will meet with the first selectman to
which they will then establish a date and time for the meting to be held.
David Reed updated the
commission that he had met with the first selectman concerning the status of
this project. With the exception of receiving a $200,000 STEAP grant nothing has
moved forwarded on this project. There has been no work performed on an action
plan and there have been no additional sources identified for funding although
the first selectman had said a few months back that these items were being
worked on by the consultant who was engaged for this project. Following some
discussion a motion was made by Bob Schmidt and seconded by Maura Gardiner that
the EDC recommend that a Somersville Streetscape Oversight Committee be
established and that the Director of Public Works be assigned as liaison to the
committee. The commission voted in favor of this resolution and also instructed
the secretary of the commission to write a letter to the board of selectmen and
request a meeting.
Updating EDC website
David Reed discussed the town’s
current website and the current link that that the EDC has on the website. The
EDC link is outdated and provides very little in the way of informative
information. The commission requested David to remove old, outdated information
and to include only basic information on the site. The commission is also to
provide David with ideas as to what they would like to see on an EDC website or
website link within two weeks of this meeting date.
Chairman updates
In The Chairman’s absence, the
Vice Chairman, David Reed, will be responsible for establishing the agenda and
spearheading the meetings for February and March.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn was made by
Maura Gardiner seconded by David Reed and was approved. The meeting was
officially adjourned at
Respectfully submitted
by,
Ronald L. Elliott, Secretary
for the EDC
Minutes are not official until
approved at a subsequent meeting.