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Town of Gray
Community Economic Development Committee
Stimson Hall
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Minutes
Present: Ed Libby, Lew Mancini, Dick Barter, Tom Delancy, Anne Gass, Peter Gellerson
Absent: Don Hutchings, Lance Tlumac
Guests/Staff: Al Palmer, Dennis Lachman, George Thebarge
6:30 PM Ed Libby called the meeting to order.
6:35 PM Monument Square master plan presentations by Lachman Architects and Gorrill Palmer.
- Review Assessments and Design Scenarios
- Agreed that the purpose of this process is to bring together town residents and stakeholders to envision a different future for the Monument Square portion of the village area.
- Opportunities will potentially come up for looking beyond the study area (e.g., road connections toward the American Legion, Russell School).
- Need for care and clarity on indicating the level of Town control (“guidance”) over what happens. Present a spectrum of potential influence—at one end redevelopment being entirely funded by developers and at the other end project(s) entirely funded by the Town. The level of Town control will correspond to the investment by the Town (e.g., offering the Town land, applying for CDBG funds, creation of a TIF District, etc.)
- The pros and cons of Town involvement and the level desired will be part of the input from participants we are looking for.
- We will offer a parallel spectrum of design concepts that illustrate the status quo with minor changes on one end and a “grand plan” on the other end where zoning and property lines are suspended and most of the buildings are replaced with new structures. In between the minor and “grand plan” will be where we invite charette participants to provide new ideas on the future of the block.
- Need to be prepared to answer hard questions on traffic, design guidelines, etc. Need to work within the level of research provided by the project funding (i.e., no specific designs of buildings or project cost pro forma.
- Need to address the future of the ball field head on. If the Town properties are sold, parking will likely disappear, so the ball field might need to be moved anyway.
- Need sensitivity and advance outreach to Little League Association.
- Potential relocation options are the Russell School property or the new land by Pennell just purchased by the Town.
- Working with the Pennell land would be less complicated than the School District, but there might be neighborhood opposition.
- The ball field provides an opportunity to expand parking for the block if the grand plan end of the spectrum is identified as a goal by the process.
- Dennis, George and Al will refine the visual presentation based on input from today’s meeting
- Charette Planning Process
- The process should be inclusive and transparent
- Between 75 and 100 people would be a good number to achieve
- We should do advance outreach to bring people to the charette
- Need to meet privately with all landowners with property directly involved one on one to explain our intent and present the workshop materials for review and refinement.
- Need to send a letter to all businesses and property owners in close proximity to the block and invite their input in advance of the workshop event.
- Begin publicity process in early October, to include local cable, news articles, and (possibly) posters, direct mail postcards
- If postcards are used, include a concept plan as the background to attract attention.
- George will work with Ed on the web site and other publicity efforts.
- Forum in late October on local cable to provide a sneak preview
- Look at first 2 weeks in November for holding the charette
- Consider possibility of follow-up to the charette
At the next meeting we’ll review roles of CEDC members in the charette process.
8:15 PM Update on Clark Block ribbon cutting.
We agreed to invite dignitaries (Cumberland County Commissioners, CDBG officials, Maine and US delegation, the press. We will schedule it in early September, in the morning in order to gain visibility for morning commuters.
8:30 PM Adjourn.
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