The Middlebury Economic and Industrial Development Commission (EIDC) at its Nov. 24 meeting unanimously voted to not renew a yearly membership in the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). It also discussed the streetscape request for quotations (RFQ) and set 2016 meeting dates.
An expected guest, Edward Bona, coordinator of the Connecticut Department of Economic Community Development’s Enterprise Zone Program did not attend. Chairman Terrence McAuliffe said he would try to reschedule him for a future meeting.
McAuliffe also said updates made to the Tax Incentive program would be on the agenda for approval by the Board of Selectman (BoS) at their Dec. 7 meeting (Editor’s note: The BoS approved the updates at their Dec. 7 meeting). Those updates added information about the Oxford Airport Enterprise Zone incentives.
He also said the streetscape RFQ package was being managed by Chief Financial Officer Larry Hutvagner and being pulled into one document by First Selectman Ed St. John’s Executive Secretary, Barbara Whitaker. It also was to be discussed at the Dec. 7 BoS meeting.
The streetscape RFQ was written as a result of an August joint meeting of the EIDC and the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z). A streetscape plan is expected to cost about $100,000. Funding will come from P&Z funds and grants such as the Small Town Economic Assistance Program and Eversource Main Street grant program.
A motion to not renew membership in the CERC Sitefinder Search database at a cost of $600 per year passed unanimously. Commissioners agreed there was not enough benefit in paying for a search capability also available directly from the CERC web site. After a discussion on what nearby towns are doing for marketing, McAuliffe agreed to bring a web site proposal to the next meeting based on good ideas from Newtown and others.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Conference Room.
