MINUTES

WATERTOWN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION

SPECIAL MEETING

TOWN HALL ANNEX

THURSDAY= , MAY 19, 2005 – 7:30 P.M.

PRESENT: = &nb= sp; Carmine DiPietro

= ; &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; = ; Anne Kuegler

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Norman Marcoux

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Joseph McGrail, Chairman

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Theodore Migliarese, Secretary

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Jack Traver, Vice Chairman (arrived at 7:40 p.m.)

ABSENT: &nb= sp; = George Velezis

ALTERNATES PRESENT: None

ALTERNATES ABSENT: &= nbsp; John Manno

OTHERS PRESENT: = Mary Barton, Zoning Enforcement Officer

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Lisa Taccardi, Chamber of Commerce

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; &= nbsp; &nbs= p; Meredith Robson, Town Manager

1.&nb= sp; Convene Regular Meeting - 7:30 P.M.

&n= bsp;

Mr. McGrail, Vice Chairman, Called the Meeting= to Order at 7:35 p.m.

&n= bsp;

2.&nb= sp; Roll Call

M= r. McGrail, Vice Chairman, executed the Roll Call.

<= o:p>

3.&nb= sp; Public Participation

= None

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4.&nb= sp; Minutes=

&= nbsp; A. Regular Meeting - April 14, 2005

&= nbsp; MOTION: (Mr. = Marcoux, sec. Ms. Kuegler) to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes dated April 14, 20= 05 as presented.

= D= iscussion: None<= /p>

= M= OTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

5.&nb= sp; Correspondence

A. = ; Letter from Cumberland Farms

Mr. McGrail stated Cumberland Farms were making a presentation to see if Watertown needed a store like that, or a gas station= , and if so, they would be willing to look at various locations in Watertown. He will send them a letter back th= anking them for their interest.

6.&nb= sp; New Business

A.&nbs= p; Planning and Zoning Proposed Change to STP as Increase Auto Dealers

= Ms. Barton reported back in November of 1997, the Planning & Zoning Commiss= ion made all the car dealerships on Straits Turnpike non-conforming. There were numerous attempts by the different dealers to come back. Those people have spent millions of dollars so they're not going anywhere. It really is a regi= onal car shopping market. There ha= ve been at least two text amendment changes to allow car dealerships to get ba= ck either a special permit or permitted site plan use, so the dealerships came back in, talked to the Commission, and the Commission did a lot of research= and they do pay taxes, and they don't generate a lot of traffic. If all that area was retail, any improvements that were all done by Stop & Shop would be negated. So the Commission decided to allow= them back as a special permit, but only allow as a maximum of 30% of the area in= the zone to be utilized for car dealerships, so that will allow for some other retail uses. Right now about = 15% of the zone is car dealerships. = There is limited property, but there is about a 12 acre parcel adjacent to the 10 Acre Mall that Jannazzo is looking at buying, he's got an option on it. She didn't know whether he would s= ell the County Line on Straits or use that and bu= y in the back.

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Page 3

= Car dealerships have to have a lot of inventory; people don't like to wait 2 we= eks for a car, they want it right away, so the Commission adopted the regulatio= n, made it effective September 15, 2005 and in the mean time they're working on regulations to allow the car dealerships to operate the way they need, cause they need a lot of outdoor displays, they need to be visible, they need to = go within 25 feet of the street line to park, they need a landscape buffer. Right now the setback is 50 feet a= nd most of them don't conform to that. They talked about lighting issues, so the next step is the Commission will have = a Subcommittee meeting with some of the dealerships within the next week or so and they'll have a public hearing and move forward with this issue.

= A lengthy discussion ensued regarding the remaining parcels on Straits Turnpi= ke and the fact that there's a lot of interest in purchasing these parcels from Stop & Shop, but they're not interested in selling.

B.&nbs= p; Council of Government Meets

= Mr. McGrail reported there are several meetings that this Commission gets invit= ed to. He asked for everyone's email so he can send these notices out to all t= he members in the future.

C.&nbs= p; Griffin School Update

= Mr. McGrail reported he sent a letter from this Commission to the Town Times and Mr. Kane, Chairman of the Town Council, stating this Commission's support of this project.

= Ms. Barton reported it's all approved.

= Ms. Robson stated they're supposed to close the first week of June.

= A discussion ensued regarding the 42 parking spaces on site, and they won't be using the spaces across the street so they won't be doing any improvements = to that parking lot.

D.&nbs= p; Planning & Zoning Plan of Development Meeting

= Mr. McGrail reported he and Mr. Marcoux and Mr. Traver attended this meeting la= st night. There is an economic development portion, so they listened to that part of the meeting. It was a very long meeting. One of the outcomes, from his perspective, that maybe this Commission, Planning and Zoning, and Water &am= p; Sewer should sit down and discuss the lower part of Echo Lake Road Extension area, near the old drive in and how that should be developed.

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= Ms. Barton reported the Town needs to decide what they want to use that area fo= r. There are water and sewer issues a= nd some suite work issues that are both very expensive.

E.&nbs= p; Discussion with Mary Barton regarding Plan of Development and Other Items

= Mr. McGrail stated this is on-going.

7.&nb= sp; Old and Unfinished Business

&= nbsp; A. Co-Visits with Chamber

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail reported actually this is a duplication of Item K as well. He asked Ms. Taccardi to come this evening to talk about visiting local business to present one common front.<= /p>

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Taccardi reported they are trying to identify what issues they want to look at. Do they want to go to the= bigger, more established companies, or smaller businesses? They've had a lot of dialogue abou= t this and are ready to move forward with that whenever this Commission is ready.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> A lengthy discussion ensued about = how these visits will be conducted.

&= nbsp; B. = E.D.C. Consultant

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail stated Ms. Robson is trying to arrange a phone conversation with UC= onn, but hasn’t had much luck.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Robson reported she did get in touch with Quinnipiac and she'll email that = to Mr. McGrail.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail stated they also talked about the Shopper's Guide which was also pa= rt of the Plan of the Development discussion last evening. He thought a lot of the things they discussed might be able to be incorporated into the phone survey of the cit= izens. Southbury did a similar survey. Some of the questions could be tai= lored, and maybe Planning and Zoning might want to and a few questions as well.

&= nbsp; C. Business Inquiry/Follow-Up

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail reported when people do call, they should go to Ms. Robson unless it can be put off to someone else for follow-up because right now Ms. Robson h= as a full plate. They need to deci= de who the follow-up people should be so these calls don't get lost. A discussion ensued.

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&= nbsp; D. Subcommittee Update

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail reported Mr. Velezis was absent.

&= nbsp; E. = Bid Ordinance Review

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail asked if anyone has thought about this, or should they just take no action on it? This item was t= abled.

&= nbsp; F. = Fire District Zoning Letter

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail stated he has held off on this because he heard there might be some changes at the Fire District.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Marcoux asked if it was time to start thinking about consolidation?

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Barton replied there is talk of that currently.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail agreed, and that's why he didn't send the letter.

&= nbsp; G. Signage for Industrial Area

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail reported he asked the Town's Data Processing Coordinator to add some links to the E.D.C. web site, one of which is to the Chamber, and the State D.E.C.D. He asked Mr. Cavanau= gh, Director of Public Works, what it would take to get snow removed off Main Street= to make it easier for the businesses. Atty. Jessell asked him if this Commission could hold a special meeting regarding= the Paparazzo property.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Barton reported that's the parcel between Bunker Hill Road and New Woods Ro= ad, 193 acres, and it's presently zoned R-80, R-30, and R-70, and there's an ap= plication to change it to an R-30 for 400 - 600 55 and older townhouses, detached duplexes, and a series of private roads.&n= bsp; A lengthy discussion ensued.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail reported there is a Litchfield County Website, litchfieldcounty.com. It's ju= st for FYI but he thought it was an interesting site. There is a slight fee to be listed= , but it's open to restaurants, stores, etc.&nbs= p; Maybe the Town could go on that web site as well to attract people.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> It's a private site.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail reported he has discussed the Paparazzo Subdivision with Gary Booke= r, a Real Estate Agent for the post office and he'd like to come and speak to th= is Commission. They're looking for a piece of lan= d to either rehab or to build a new post office and he wanted this Commission's thoughts.

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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Barton stated he is looking at Brook's on Main Street. Several potential sites were discu= ssed by the Commission and Ms. Barton for the post office.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail suggested the Town's Web Site should have a section to have virtual tours of Main Street, which would then be broken down into dining, shopping, etc. Someone on this Commission would h= ave to compile the information, and then possibly enter the web site to enter the data. This would offer free advertising to businesses.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Taccardi stated the Chamber's web site has something similar as well.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Barton reported the Town of Du= rham sells advertising to businesses on their web site, and they're going to generate a revenue stream from that.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail stated he would bring back a proposed plan for the web site at the = next meeting.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail stated he was thinking of that type of saying to be on Route 8, whe= re it says Watertown. He asked Mr. Williams, the State R= epresentative, if the State would pay for something like that, a sign that says Watertown - A Gateway to Historic Litchfield= County, or somethin= g like that. He also felt a sign for= the industrial park, on Route 8, paid for by the State, would be a good idea as well, cause he's always asked directions for the industrial park. Also, when you get off Exit 37, a = sign is needed there, as well as a sign to Main Street. They should try to get the State's help before doing the signs that = Mr. Marcoux has been working on. = The industrial park really doesn’t have a name, and now it's more of a business park, so maybe it should have a new name.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Kuegler suggested they speak to the businesses and let them bid on a name.<= /p>

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail suggested naming it the Watertown Business Commons, Watertown Business Park, Gateway Business Commons, or Gateway Business Park. If they wanted to officially name = that, what would the process be?

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Ms. Robson replied it would have to go before the Town Council.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Marcoux was reluctant to give up the industrial name.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail argued it was no longer industrial. It's all types of businesses.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; A lengthy discussion ensued about restaurants.

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&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail suggested he send a letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission to= see if they have any interest in renaming the industrial park. Mr. Kane, Chairman of the Town Cou= ncil, is in favor of the name change.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Marcoux reminded them that the majority of the businesses in that park are = industrial.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail replied right now, but in the future it won't be.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. Marcoux reported Vermont has signs on their highways with arrows pointing in various directions to f= ind businesses. It's very conveni= ent.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; The conversation went back to the survey and who should be surveyed, how, and w= hat the survey should encompass.

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Mr. McGrail stated the Special Meeting will be held on May 16, 2005 at 7:00 p.m= ., right before the Regular Meeting at 7:30 p.m. June 22, 2005 will be the backup d= ate.

&= nbsp; H. Town Industrial Real Estate Agent

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Not discussed.

&= nbsp; I. &= nbsp; Business Cards/Badges

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Not discussed.

&= nbsp; J. &= nbsp; Watertown Drive-In= Site Update

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Not discussed.

&= nbsp; K. Lisa Taccardi to Discuss Visits to Local Business

&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Already Discussed under item 7A.

8.&nb= sp; Adjournment=

MOTION: (Ms. Kuegler, sec. Mr. Migli= arese) to Adjourn the Regular Meeting at 9:45 p.m.

Discussion: None<= /p>

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Watertown Economic Development Commission

Special Meeting

May 19, 2005

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Regular Meeting Adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Joseph McGrail, Chairman

Watertown Economic Development Commission

Approved: _______________________________

Lynn M. LaF= orme, Clerk