DRAFT

Economic Development Committee

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Newmarket Town Hall

Town Council Chambers

7:00 p.m.

Present:                John Badger, Chairman Newmarket Planning Board; Peter Roy, Vice Chairman                                                            Newmarket Planning Board; Adam Schroadter, Newmarket Planning Board,  Jay Dugal,                                   Newmarket Community Development Corporation; Eric Botterman, Town Council; Mike                                      Provost, Newmarket Community Development Corporation; Gerry O’Connell,                                                          Newmarket Business Association; Ed Wojnowski, Town Administrator; and Diane Hardy,                                   Town Planner.

Minutes:                A motion was made by Ed Wojnowski, Town Administrator, seconded by Peter Roy to                                       approve the minutes of January 6, 2010. All in favor.

                                John Badger opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and reported there                                                                 were three (3) new ideas that he wanted to present to the committee and asked the                                            committee if there were any more to please add them to the list.                                       

He spoke the importance of having WiFi available in Newmarket and suggested                 this be a priority of the committee. The Newmarket Business Association (NBA)                 has received a  grant from the NH Department of Resources and Economic                 Development (DRED) to help defray the costs of installing a WiFi system in the                 downtown. NBA hopes to start the first phase of the project early this spring.                  People would have access to the WiFi for 45 minutes for free.  Several                 merchants have contributed to the initial equipment cost.  Once the system is in                 place it is easily expandable. Many communities are supporting broadband                 systems as a way of driving economic development. The Town will support the                 WiFi by placing signage throughout the town to alert visitors of its availability.                 Also, the Town will issue press releases so local residents and businesses are                 aware of its availability. The Town should continue its efforts to make WiFi                 available in town.  The committee discussed the initiatives by the Portsmouth                 Chamber of Commerce, which rather than waiting for the larger companies to                 launch a system has provided  a hot spot by unveiling its own WiFi located  in a                 kiosk in Market Square in the downtown in 2003. The members of the chamber                 financially supported the project.

The Economic Development committee is in support of keeping the Black Bear                                       TIF district in place. There is a need to do further studies of access options and                                        determining their costs: There are three options: (1) upgrading the railroad                                                 crossing at the end of Forbes Road which would access the easterly side of                                            the railroad; (2) upgrading the railroad bridge at Newfields and New Road                                      intersection at Route 108 in conjunction with the NH DOT, working with the                                         Town of Newfields; and (3) providing access north of the BlackBear TIF district                                 and considering the construction of a new bridge on property south of the                                    funeral home.  

Diane Hardy presented a series of large 1”-100 scale aerial photographs which                                    shows the properties along the Route 108 corridor which the committee will use                         for planning purposes.

The Town should continue to support the endeavors of the Newmarket Heritage             and Cultural Center Committee “NHCCC” which is considering uses for the                         public  space it has acquired in the mills, such as art classes, gallery, a discovery                    center (museum), educational         programs, and civic uses.  It is important that                      we be “pro active” in this regard. The Town should consider adding an element                    to the Master Plan to address  arts and culture to promote tourism.

The Town should a listing of Newmarket businesses.  Perhaps, an intern ( a                 student from UNH) from the Whittemore Business School could put                 together a survey , inventory existing businesses, and receive credit as part of                                  coursework.

The Town’s economic development brochure is out of date and needs to be                                     updated and listed on the town’s website.

The ambassador program could be a program of the Newmarket Business                                              Association (NBA) with participation of the town government. Under the                                         program, a committee (one or two members) would conduct monthly  visits                                                 with manufacturing concerns and businesses to learn about local needs and to                                   keep the lines of communication open.  A team is formed made up of town                                     leaders                 and businesses to seek solutions to the local problems identified. 

The Town should consider a regional approach to Economic Development,                 working  in partnership with the regional planning commissions, the regional                 development corporations, and adjacent communities which may have mutual                 economic development  goals.

Make information about recreation facilities and trails available not only to                                 residents, but to people visiting the community. Sell the “outdoor recreation”                                         attributes of the Town as a potential tourism destination.  Prepare maps                                                 showing trails and making information available at a downtown kiosk.  The                                        Town should not overlook the importance of arts, and culture as part of strategy                              for promoting tourism and economic development. It was mentioned that the                                         New England Center at UNH was going to close soon.  It appears there is a                                         market for some kind private/public hotel/conference center which supports                                              the arts and cultural activities. Other ideas for tourism that were discussed                                           included the “ski train” idea to encourage people from Boston and other                                     metropolitan areas to come to NH to take advantage of winter sports and                                        activities.

Working with the NBA,  the Town should conduct a “branding” exercise that gets to the “heart” of what is unique about Newmarket, what is the image the town is trying to promote, who we are and why you should locate your business here.  Use tools such as the “monkey survey” to solicit public input into this process. Funding is available for this type of exercise from the NH Charitable Fund who has deadlines in March and October. 

The Committee talked about the need to incorporate the idea of economic                                         development into the town government structure.  There should be a point                                     person                 assigned for economic development, the Town Planner or Planning                                              Administrative Assistant who could put people in touch with others in the                                    town who may have information to provide. This point person in the Town Hall                                        could field and direct questions regarding economic development to the                                    Planner, the Town Assessor, the Town Administrator, or outside agencies as                                         appropriate.

 Tourism is an important part of NH’s economy and should not be overlooked.                 We are seeing resurgence of interest in the art and cultural activities, such as                 repertoire theater, the music scene, and art museum or art gallery. The Town                 should seize this as an opportunity for building its base for tourism.

John Badger talked about assigning priorities to the recommendations,                 such                                       as:

To be completed with six (6) months

To be completed within 6 -18 months

To be completed with 18-36 months.

                Also, the committee should identify who is responsible for each activity. Diane                 Hardy presented a sample of what the final action plan would look like on the                 attached page.

The Committee embraced the idea of an incubator opportunity working in                                         concert with UNH Technology groups.  Within the incubator, there would be                                           shared space in which                 administrative services and costs could be pooled.  M.                                           Provost talked about pre-fabricated units which could be snapped together to                                      create space for businesses. The units are adaptable, moveable and can provide                                                 the flexibility that is needed for a start-up and fledging business.

It was noted that there are Community Development Block Grant (CDBG),                                       Economic Development Administration (EDA), and Rural Development Grants                                           and Loans through the USDA for these types of use.

The Town should set up an Economic Development webpage that includes:                                     contact information, demographic information about the Town, population,                               gender, age, housing, types, values, income, community facilities, quality of                                  life, parks, recreational   facilities, and links to other resources. It is important to                            keep the information on the website current. 

Gerry O’Connell mentioned that there is a Seacoast Board of Realtors which                          provides information on sales in the area as well as multiple listings of                                    commercial real estate within the region.  The Town’s website could provide a                                    linkage to this website for property that is available for lease as well as for sale.                                     

Diane Hardy will update the spreadsheet for the next meeting. The committee reviewed the list of recommendations that were discussed at the previous meeting.  Several items will be combined and reorganized and categorized by Economic Development Goal and Strategy.  The next meeting will be Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 7:00 pm at the Newmarket Town Hall.

        The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 pm.