Economic Development Committee Draft Minutes 04/14/10
Economic Development Committee
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Town Council Chambers
7:00 pm
Present: Gerry O’Connell, Ed Wojnowski, Jay Dugas, Peter Roy, John Badger, Diane Hardy, Mike Provost.
Residents Susan and Gary Levy were present as well.
Members of the committee were given a copy of Public Service of New Hampshire Company’s 2010 Economic Review . John Badger gave an overview of the process that will be used to update Chapter 6 of the Economic Development chapter of the Master Plan. The process is modeled after that which was used to update the Water Resource chapter of the Master Plan that was adopted in September 2009.
He explained that this is a subcommittee of the Planning Board that was formed in December 2009. The subcommittee has invited key business concerns to join the group for discussion including members of the Newmarket Community Development Corporation, the Newmarket Business Association, the Town Administrator, , as well as a representative of industry. He indicated that he represented both the Planning Board and the Black Bear TIF committee.
The subcommittee, through a series of brainstorming sessions and focused discussions, have come up with a list of 34 recommendations that will be presented to the Planning Board. Recommendations have been organized into several categories, assigns a lead for implementation, a time frame for completion of the activity, and priority level. It was explained that the intent is to work within the existing organizational structure and not to duplicate work that is being done by others. The committee ran through a draft list of recommendations and made a few modifications to the Table. He asked the committee members to get any further comments back to the Town Planner.
The committee discussed the need for an economic development website which could include a web-based inventory of available commercial and industrial properties in town with linkages to economic data and resources. They talked about having a directory map in the downtown which would promote local businesses and events. There was recognition given to tourism as an important element of economic development. An update was given of the work of the Lamprey Arts and Cultural Association and the Newmarket Heritage Civic Center Committee (NHCCC) which is developing a cultural arts center in mills. The committee also talked about plans to perhaps have a visioning session to engage the community in future economic development planning discussion and help to define what type of commercial and industrial development is both marketable and desirable for Newmarket. On-going plans to provide WiFi in the downtown were discussed as well. The service will be available from the Library on Main Street to Town Hall and will include the mills and downtown businesses. The committee also discussed possible innovative approaches to development such as tapping into the new incentives available for energy savings and green technology. Mention was made of some of the entrepreneurial endeavors that UNH is involved in to help create start-up businesses in the “green” technology field.
John Badger suggested the committee meet again when a draft report is done. Diane Hardy indicated that there may be a possibility that the Strafford Regional Planning Commission could possibly assist in that regard. She also mentioned that, if approved, there will be funding in next year’s Planning budget for hiring a consultant to assist with the project, as necessary.
