August 7 , 2008

TDC Board of Directors
Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 8 AM
TDC Office, 40 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 8

Board Members Present:

Jack Baer
Elinor Carbone
Aurora Daly
Maria Domack
Cindy Donaldson
Peter Herbst
Jeff Lalonde
Mark McEachern
Vic Muschell
Jim Rokos
JoAnn Ryan

Others in Attendance:

Rep. Anne Ruwet, Christina Emery, Stephen Nocera

Meeting Minutes:

 1. Call to Order

Vic Muschell called the TDC Board Meeting to order at 8:05 AM at the TDC Office.

2. Approval of Minutes

Upon motion by Jim Rokos, seconded by Peter Herbst, the minutes from May 13, 2008 were approved.

3. President’s Report

 President Vic Muschell asked JoAnn Ryan to provide an update from the Search Committee. JoAnn reported that an ad for an Interim Executive Director has been posted with the Waterbury Republican, Register Citizen, and the Northeastern Economic Developer’s Association (NEDA). The job description is also on the TDC webpage. JoAnn has received several resumes and phone calls. Resumes are due by August 15 th.

 4. Executive Director’s Report

 Christina Emery reported that she will work with DECD and the Attorney for the Torin property to complete the SCPRIF grant application for a Phase III Environmental Assessment and RAP.

5. Report from the MDP Committee

 Peter Herbst, chair of the MDP Project Committee provided an overview of the work done to date on the MDP. The contract with Milone & MacBroom for the 2 nd phase of the MDP project was reviewed and discussed. This contract has the same terms and conditions as the first contract and utilizes the full scope of services already approved by DECD.

Peter made a motion to authorize TDC Board President Vic Muschell to sign the contract on behalf of the TDC, contingent upon final approval by the State Attorney General’s Office and a reasonable assurance that the funds will be available in time to meet contractual obligations. The motion was seconded by JoAnn Ryan.

Upon discussion the following questions/issues were raised:

Rep. Anne Ruwet informed the board that all state contracts over $50,000 must be approved by the Attorney General’s Office and that she would make contact with the AG regarding our funding request.

Jim Rokos inquired about the MDP schedule. Christina Emery noted that a revised schedule was included in the MDP contract and showed the process being complete by April. Once the MDP Committee meets more detailed timeframes will be established.

Elinor Carbone inquired about Milone & MacBroom referencing a shift in the scope towards Main Street. Vic Muschell responded that Water Street is still in the project boundary and that there will be no extra charge for Milone & MacBroom to address Water Street.

The motion as presented was approved unanimously by the Board of Directors.

Peter Herbst noted that the MDP will determine our vision for downtown. The MDP Committee wants to be as inclusive as possible and that any ideas should be sent to the MDP Committee made up of Peter Herbst, Jack Baer, Muff Maskovsky, Mark McEachern, Economic Development Director Rose Ponte, City Engineer Ed Fabbri and City Planner Marty Connor.

6. Report from the PR Committee

Elinor Carbone reported that the PR Committee will be in close coordination with the MDP Committee to help educate the public on the MDP process. A press release about approval of the Milone contract will be sent to the press.

7. New Business

Elinor Carbone inquired about parking initiatives as discussed in a recent news article. Steven Nocera reported that a Parking Committee made up of Mayor Bingham, Muff Maskovsky, Rose Ponte, Officer Shopey, Chief Milano and he has been meeting to improve downtown parking. New signage is in place at the South Central lot. The Committee is exploring other ways to make downtown parking more friendly including increasing meters from 2 hours to 3 hours.

Vic Muschell reported that he recently met with Cindy Donaldson, the new Chair of the Torrington Economic Development Commission to discuss ways the two groups could work together. Cindy provided an overview of new initiatives by the EDC including educational programs with UConn, the possibility of an Arts Commission for Downtown, and a guide to development in Torrington.

8. Adjournment

Being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 AM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Elinor Carbone , Secretary