Town of Gray
Community Economic Development Committee
Pennell Municipal Complex
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Minutes
Present: Rick Licht, Dick Barter, Ed Libby, Don Hutchins, Anne Gass, Lew Mancini
6:30 PM Call to Order.
1. The CEDC approved that Rick and Lou will represent CEDC at any future the Northbrook meetings. The dates for these has not been established. It will likely be an Executive Session due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations.
2. Monument Square Master plan council report post presentation discussion.
Town survey, what should it look like and how could it be applied (i.e. mailers, website, physical survey, etc.)
The CEDC voted to recommend that the Town Council discuss and decide who shall create/write the survey (George and/or Doug who would then present it to the CEDC for review and recommendation before bringing it to the council for approval or have the CEDC create the survey and present it to the council for approval) and how the survey should be applied (mailed to residents or combination of mailer, website, face to face survey, ect.)
3. Dick Barter and Don Hutchins to do a presentation.
Ideas on how to better market projects to, and engage Gray residents.
Dick and Don proposed that the CEDC recommend to the Council that the town establish a newsletter, modeled somewhat after the Gray News, which Ray Clark has agreed to edit. The purpose would be to have a reliable way to reach people to keep them informed about Town initiatives such as the Monument Square redevelopment, obtain their input through surveys, and project a positive image for the town.
Discussion centered around issues such as cost, whether it would be a newsletter or a newspaper, and legal requirements for a town-funded publication. The need for a business plan that clearly identifies cost, labor required, and content was also discussed. Peter will clarify the legal issues and also look into the availability of funds.
Once Peter clarifies the legal issues, and the availability of funds is clarified, Dick will write a conceptual proposal to present at the next meeting.
4. MDOT sign clutter update.
Ed L. to give the committee an update of where the sign clean-up stands.
Ed reported that MDOT has looked at the signage clutter, and has identified 202 as the biggest culprit. They are currently looking at signs that can be moved, combined with MDOT & Town of Gray, and some other sign changes. They will put together their recommendations and will seek another meeting with the town by April at the latest. This is a positive development and CEDC members were very pleased by the MDOT’s responsiveness regarding this important issue.
5. MTA Exit Welcome sign, Sign Concepts sign example PDF review.
The CEDC reviewed sign types and pricing.
The CEDC voted to recommend to the Council that it include in the FY 12 budget an amount not to exceed $11,000 for a mid-range sign that would include the design work.
CEDC to create a report to present to the Council with recommendations and supporting researched details.
6. Further discussion on Manny Motors based off Dick and Doug’s meeting with Manny.
Anne presented a proposal for exploring possible grant money and volunteer coordination to help make improvements to Manny Motors. This work would be coordinated by Gray Community Endowment. The CEDC approved this.
The group agreed that removing the Exxon signage (both the free-standing one and the one on the building), while allowing Manny to retain the right to have an appropriately sized sign advertising his business, should be pursued.
Gray Plaza has sold. Dick recommended that CEDC send new owner a letter welcoming him to the town and offer our support. Pete will let Ed know that the sale has gone through, and Ed will draft a letter.
8:30PM Adjourn
Wednesday, February 16 is our next regularly scheduled meeting.
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