9-5-08

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03e8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Directors"><B>Board of Directors</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Meetings"><B>Meetings</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CEDS"><B>CEDS</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id66.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Scenario Planning"><B>Scenario Planning </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Task Team"><B>Task Team</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id117.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Regional, State Federal Links Docs"><B>Regional Plans </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Regional Links NW CT"><B>Links</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="ByLaws"><B>By-Laws</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact"><B>Contact</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <B>CEDS Sponsors:</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id125.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Board of Directors"><I><U>Platinum Sponsor</U></I></A></div> <div> <B>Borghesi Building & Engineering</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>Silver Sponsors</U></I></div> <div> <B>Bicron Electronics</B></div> <div> <B>CEDAS</B></div> <div> <I>(CT Econ. Dev. Assoc.)</I></div> <bR> <div> <I><U>Bronze Sponsors</U></I></div> <div> <B>Parker Productions</B></div> <div> <B>Winvian</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 style=" border-bottom: 1px solid #999980;" BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Bangle" ><B>Northwest Connecticut Economic Development Corporation</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bangle" ><B> </B></FONT><B>    </B><B>|</B><B>  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Bangle" ><B> </B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#006600" FACE="Bangle" ><B> </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Northwest Connecticut Economic Developme"><B>home</B></A></FONT></div> <div> <A HREF="id102.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12508">1-25-08</A>   |   <A HREF="id103.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="3708">3-7-08</A>   |   <A HREF="id105.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="41808">4-18-08</A>   |   <A HREF="id106.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="5208">5-2-08</A>   |   <B>9-5-08</B>   |   <A HREF="id108.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="10308">10-3-08</A>   |   <A HREF="id109.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="11708">11-7-08</A>   |   <A HREF="id110.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12508">12-5-08</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03f8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>9-5-08</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="1" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="727" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 1832 WIDTH="719"><div> <B><U>Northwest Connecticut Economic Development Corporation</U></B></div> <div> 333 Kennedy Drive, Torrington, CT 06790</div> <div> <U>860.567.2204 - www.nwctedc.com - info@nwctedc.com</U></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Board of Directors</U></B></div> <div> September 5, 2008 - 8:00 am</div> <div> <I>NW CT Chamber of Commerce</I></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Attendance</U></B>: Doug Parker, JoAnn Ryan, Bob Axelrod, Lou Helt, Pat Power, Carolle Jenkins, Maura Martin, John Maxwell, Mike McGuffie, Ted Murphy,  Rose Ponte, John Morici, Victoria Patrick, Vance Taylor and Chris Vita.  <I>Guests:</I> Arthur Bogen, Mark Waterhouse and John O'Toole</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>CBIA Business Survey Results</U></B></div> <div> -  JoAnn Ryan discussed the CBIA Business Survey conducted by the NW CT Chamber.  </div> <div> -  Over 500 responses were received.  Data will help to guide the region in the future. </div> <div> -  Results will be shared at UConn Torrington Campus at 8:00 am on September 23, 2008.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Regional Brownfields Consultant</U></B></div> <div> -  Arthur Bogen attended "Redevelopment of Brownfields" Task Team meeting on June 30, 2008 at the recommendation of Rep. Chris Murphy's staff.</div> <div> -  His knowledge and expertise at helping to resolve Brownfield issues for redevelopment was acknowledged by the meeting participants.</div> <div> -  Arthur also met with the NWCTEDC Executive Committee on Friday, August 29, 2008 to discuss ways that he could assist the region.</div> <div> -  Executive Committee recommended that NWCTEDC retain the services of Arthur Bogen <I>(Down to Earth Consulting)</I> as a Brownfields consultant for the region.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Motion</U></B> made by Ted Murphy and seconded by John Maxwell "To authorize the officers of NWCTEDC to contract the services of Arthur Bogen <I>(Down to Earth Consulting) </I>to guide regional efforts in cleaning up and reutilizing Brownfield sites in NW CT for economic development."  Motion was passed unanimously.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B><U>NWCTEDC Brownfields Proposal - September 5, 2008</U></B></div> <div> <B><U>Priority Goal:</U></B> To redevelop Brownfield sites in NW CT for economic development purposes.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Motion:</U></B> To authorize the officers of NWCTEDC to contract the services of Arthur Bogen <I>(Down to Earth Consulting)</I> to guide regional efforts in cleaning up and reutilizing Brownfield sites in NW CT for economic development.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Financial Considerations</U></B></div> <div> -  Initial services will be paid by a grant from NE Utilities ($3,500)</div> <div> -  Future payments will be linked to specific grant requests.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Services Offered</U></B></div> <div> -  Create an inventory of Brownfield sites throughout the NW CT region <I>(21 towns and cities served by NWCTEDC).</I></div> <div> -  Develop a priority listing of those sites with the most potential for economic development.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Policies/Procedures</U></B></div> <div> -  This process will be entirely voluntary on the part of property owners and municipalities.</div> <div> -  Only sites approved for inclusion by property owners and with the consent of local municipal officials will be included in the inventory and prioritization process. </div> <div> -  Information will not be released to the public without the consent of the property owner(s) and municipal official(s).</div> <div> -  All 21 member towns and cities that have agreed to avail themselves of these services will have access to these services. </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Task Team Update</U></B></div> <div> -  Doug Parker provided an update on the progress of the regional Task Team meetings conducted in the summer.  </div> <div> -  The meetings were very productive and yielded a lot of information from different 50 participants.  Topics were: <I>Revitalization of Town & City Centers, Workforce Development, Redevelopment of Brownfields, Transportation, Energy, Agriculture and Culture, Tourism & Film.  </I></div> <div> -  Draft summaries of all Task Team meetings is available on the NWCTEDC web site <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#330000" FACE="Arial" >(</FONT><U>www.nwctedc.com</U><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#330000" FACE="Arial" >).</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>CEDS Update</U></B></div> <div> -  The next step is to update the <I>CEDS (Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies)</I> document for the region.  </div> <div> -  The current CEDS was completed in May 2004 and is ready for a 5 year update.  </div> <div> -  Mark Waterhouse has experience with the CEDS process and will advise NWCTEDC on how to proceed.  </div> <div> -  Mark also discussed the "CEDAS" <I>(CT Economic Development Association - </I><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Arial" ><A HREF="http://www.cedas.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.cedas.org/"><I>www.cedas.org</I></A></FONT><I>)</I> organization and a series of workshops entitled "Community Builders Institute."  </div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Guest Speaker - John O'Toole</U></B></div> <div> -  John is Project Manager, <I>(CL&P & Yankee Gas)</I> Economic & Community Development</div> <div> -  John described his initiatives in "Grand List Growth, Community Development and the CT Main Street Program."</div> <div> -  He also discussed "Responsible Growth" policies at the state level.  CT is working on creating a more positive business climate to retain existing businesses and to attract new businesses to the state.  84% of the new jobs were created by existing companies in CT.  Business retention is a high priority throughout the state.</div> <div> -  He described a new initiative entitled "Executive Pulse" which utilizes a web database to feature "certified sites" for development in CT.  These sites would be properly zoned and classified as "shovel ready."  It would help potential businesses to locate sites easily throughout the state.</div> <div> -  Restrictive zoning practices are a major obstacle to attracting new businesses to the state.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Guest Appearance</U></B></div> <div> -  "Al the Robot" made a special appearance.  </div> <div> -  Al participated in last year's Tech Day for local high school students and will be appearing again at this year's Tech Day on Wednesday, October 29th at Oliver Wolcott Tech HS.</div> <bR> <div> <B><U>Adjourn</U></B></div> <div> -  Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 am.</div> <bR> <div> <I>Chris Vita, Recorder</I></div> <bR> <div> Respectfully submitted,</div> <div> Doug Parker</div> <div> President/Executive Director</div> <div> NW CT Economic Development Corporation</div> <div> www.nwctedc.com</div> <div> info@nwctedc.com</div> <div> (860) 567-2204</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id100.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="NWCTEDC Minutes"><B>Back to Minutes</B></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>