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MINUTES
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
AUGUST 8, 2002
1. CALL TO ORDER
The Regular Meeting of the Economic Development Commission was called to order at 7:30 A.M. in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. Present were Chairman William Sweeney, Commission Members Scott Barnett, John Carroll, David Ryan and Alan Levesque, First Selectman Thomas Vincent, Thomas Horan and Sarah Floroski of the Main Street Partnership, Nancy Anstey of the Farmington Valley Visitors Association, Jan Losee, General Manager of the Simsbury Inn and other interested parties.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - July 11, 2002
Mr. Levesque made a motion, seconded by Mr. Barnett and passed unanimously to approve the Minutes of the July 11, 2002 meeting as written.
3. FARMINGTON VALLEY VISITORS ASSOCIATION REPORT
Nancy Anstey, Executive Director of the Farmington Valley Visitors Association informed the Commission that they had contracted with Geiger & Associates from Florida to design a media campaign; that Geiger & Associates has been very successful in its efforts to promote travel and tourism; that the contract is for a six month program costing $40,000; that the money was raised by contributions from members; that they are in the process of raising funds to continue the program for an additional six months; that there will be between twenty-two and thirty travel writers touring the area from October 2nd through October 6th; and that promoting the Valley is not a priority on the Greater Hartford's list.
4. REPORTS
Tom Horan of the Main Street Partnership introduced their new Executive Director, Sarah Floroski, who informed the Commission that she has been in the position for about three weeks. Ms. Floroski distributed the Update on Committees (Addendum I) highlighting the Partnership's efforts to partner with the Library to expand small business resources and small business management classes and the downtown market analysis scheduled for the fall. Ms. Floroski said that the focus of the Partnership will be to encourage use of the downtown areas with events such as Circus Smirkus, etc.
First Selectman Vincent informed the Commission that there has been interest in the tax incentive programs by both new and existing businesses; that attendance
Minutes
Economic Development Commission
August 8, 2002
Page 2
for the Talcott Mountain Music Festival was higher than in previous years; that construction will begin on the boundless playground; and that the Babe Ruth Tournament is currently being held at Memorial Field.
5. DISCUSSION OF PROJECT LEADER ASSIGNMENTS
Septemberfest - Mr. Carroll reported that a meeting is scheduled with Ken Mason regarding the handouts and display for Septemberfest; that he has been assured that materials will be ready for the event; and that the most critical times for coverage would be Friday evening and mid-day Sunday.
Marketing - Mr. Levesque reported that he has met with representatives from CERC and they stressed that there must be a match between target industries and the Town's resources; that it is important to build on existing industries; and that CERC has offered to make a presentation to the Commission about their services.
Chairman Sweeney asked Mr. Levesque to contact CERC and arrange for the presentation at the September meeting of the Commission.
Mr. Jensen said that on September 26th and 27th, the Greater Hartford Economic Alliance is bringing site finding people on a tour and asked for financial support from the town. Mr. Ryan made a motion to allocate $200 to support the site tour. The motion was seconded by Mr. Levesque and passed unanimously.
Benchmarking - Mr. Ryan said they are developing a report based on the survey materials and that it would be available for the next meeting. In response to Chairman Sweeney's question, Mr. Ryan said survey results show that the participation of the chief executive of the town is most important along with responsiveness to developers' needs. Mr. Ryan also said that marketing efforts such as using firms like Bartram & Cochran were deemed ineffective.
6. DISCUSSION OF TOWN PLAN - EDC PARTICIPATION
Mr. Barnett said that he was working on a summary of information to be included in the Plan of Development, some of which is conceptual, i.e. periodic reviews of the Plan; that he would e-mail the summary to Commission Members prior to the next meeting; and that he has included some of the Chambers recommendations in the summary. Mr. Barnett also said that the Alliance has decided to take a leadership role in the creation of a financial services and insurance "Industry Cluster" and that it is moving into the implementation stage.
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Economic Development Commission
August 8, 2002
Page 3
7. NEW BUSINESS
Chairman Sweeney said they would put discussion of a contribution to funding the Geiger & Associates marketing program on the Agenda of the September meeting.
8. ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Ryan made a motion, seconded by Mr. Levesque and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 A.M.
Respectfully submitted,
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Addendum I
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