ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATORS REPO=
RT
Submitted by: Joe Seacrist May 17, 2007
- Met with the President of Choy=
ce
Peterson Inc. corporate real estate specialists from Fairfield Coun=
ty. He toured our industrial park=
and
spent about an hour and half with me discussing possible locations in =
Watertown for=
one of
his clients who is looking for 100,000 sf of manufacturing space.=
- Have identified
several potential locations for a proposed U.S.
government facility in Wa=
tertown.
The client has asked for confidentiality at this point. Will meet with the agency soon=
to
review locations. Sent a letter to all real estate agents in town, ask=
ing
their input for a location.
- Attended the monthly Board of
Director’s meeting of the Watertown/Oakville Chamber of Commerce=
.
- Joe McGrail an=
d I
had lunch with Dr. Erardi and Todd Lofrese on 4/30 to discuss their
attendance at this Commission meeting to make a presentation on the sc=
hool
referendum.
- Met with Chuck
Frigon, Bill Carter the project Director for Tamarack Energy, and the
project manager for site development and construction work on the wood
chip burning plant on Echo
Lake Road. We reviewed a preliminary site
plan. He indicated that he was preparing a Community Consultation Docu=
ment
for the state siting council, which will include a day long public
workshop to be held in the late summer in Watertown. Bill Carter is also try=
ing to
contact the plant manager in Fitchburg, Mass. for an EDC tour of the facility, which is
similar to the Watertown<=
/st1:place>
proposal.
- Talked with Do=
ug
Calcagni, CEO of Calcagni Real Estate representing the Stop and Shop
properties. He was unhap=
py
with the EDC’s position about not putting residential buildings =
on
the location next to Labonne’s.=
We left it that he was going to definitely confirm his contenti=
on
that almost half the property is already zoned residential. I told him that our zoning ma=
p did
not agree with that. I d=
id
reinforce that we were happy with the State’s Dairy proposal and=
the
small lot on the corner of Bunker Hill
and Straits Turnpike.
- Talked at leng=
th
with Rick Macsuga, who is in charge of farmers’ markets for the =
CT
Department of Agriculture. He
was encouraging about a farmer’s market in Watertown. I received a comprehensive gu=
ide for
setting up a farm market from him.&nb=
sp;
We also talked about a matching grant to help get the market up=
and
running. There was a fro=
nt
page article in the Town Times on the potential market, which generated
several phone calls of interest.
- Talked with se=
veral
interested parties about the purchase and/or subdivision of the 400 Park Road
property, the former Winc=
hester
building. Still working =
on
getting that property sold and occupied so about 60-65 jobs will be co=
ming
to Watertown<=
/st1:City>.
- At Jack
Traver’s suggestion, I talked with Tony Rubino, the owner of Sta=
tely
Stairs, who has purchased land in our industrial park for a new
facility. Invited him to
appear before the commission (maybe tonight) or at least at the June 21
meeting.
- Talked with a
consultant from Cleveland=
Ohio, who heard about =
our
proposed hotel and wanted more information, which I gave her.
- Met with Sandy
Alves, President of Engineered Sinterings to further discuss his issues
with granting an easement to the town across his property for the Wadd=
les
Brook Sewer expansion, which would also serve the Heritage Woods
Development. I think we =
came
to an agreement
- Put Carol Roma=
n in
touch with Enernoc Corporation, which is paying the school system $50,=
000
a year for use of their emergency generators at Polk and Swift schools=
during
peak periods. I suggeste=
d that
the new generator at the Main
Street firehouse could pay the city a
potentially equal or greater amount for potential excess use.
- Talked with Jo=
hn
Maxwell Sr. the owner of J&J Eyelet Company, currently in Thomaston
about his possible move to Watertown. Put him in touch with owners =
of a
couple of properties in the 40,000 sf range in <=
st1:place
w:st=3D"on">Watertown. Will continue to work w=
ith
him to relocate to Watert=
own.
- Met with Chuck
Frigon and Katharine Zatkowski of RIDEWORKS, which offers bus and other
transportation links with job sites in Watertown=
,
to determine potential additional use of busses and vans for Watertown em=
ployers.
- A business own=
er,
Lynn DeSocio called me and then mailed me a packet of information
concerning the new location of her business at 40 Depot Street, a new building
across from the P&Z offices.
Her entrance would be on Pythian street, where she is seeking a=
handicapped
parking place, and asking Roy Cavanaugh to pick up trash on the hillsi=
de.
She asked if there was anything the EDC could do to help. I indicated she was in good h=
ands
with Roy Cavanaugh as the appropriate contact person.
- Have kept in t=
ouch
with Lou Longo, who is proposing the 7 unit office/ retail plaza on Davis Street.
- Attended a ses=
sion
on the LNG proposed natural gas site in Long Island Sound put on by
Broadwater Energy at the committee meeting of the Waterbury Chamber
Economic Development Committee, of which I am a member.
- John Andrew of
Watertown Plastics has received a permit to continue excavating for ad=
ditional
parking at his location on Echo
Lake Road