BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Mansfield Downtown Partnership Office
1244 Storrs Road
4:00 PM
Present: Steve Bacon, Tom Callahan, Bruce Clouette, Gregory Haddad, Philip Lodewick (by phone), Janet Jones, Frank McNabb, Kristin Schwab, Phil Spak, Betsy Treiber
Staff: Cynthia van Zelm
1. Call to Order
Board Vice President Betsy Treiber called the meeting to order at 4:03 pm.
2. Opportunity for Public to Comment
There was no public comment.
The Board moved to item Number 7 as a quorum was not yet present.
3. Approval of Minutes
Bruce Clouette made a motion to approve the minutes. Tom Callahan seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
4. Director’s Report
Executive Director Cynthia van Zelm said she is focusing a lot of attention on communications. She said the Frequently Asked Questions on the Partnership website were in the midst of being updated. Ms. van Zelm noted that the Partnership’s newsletter and a publication from LeylandAlliance were planned for this spring. Ms. van Zelm said she had a good reception from the UConn Council of Deans at a presentation this morning.
Ms. van Zelm said the monthly open house is this Thursday. Board member Steve Bacon will be staffing it with her. Ms. van Zelm thanked Board members and others for staffing the Open House. She passed around the sign-up sheet for future dates.
Ms. van Zelm reminded the Board that Winter Fun Day is scheduled for Sunday from 1 pm to 4 pm. She said that Kathleen Paterson was still looking for some volunteers if they were available.
Ms. van Zelm said the Partnership was unfortunately not awarded a CT Main Street award for its parking management study as awards were only given to existing downtowns that would preserve current facilities.
5. Update on Storrs Center and Next Steps
Ms. van Zelm said the review committees for engineering work on Storrs Road had completed its evaluation of responses to the Town’s request for qualifications and would be sending out requests for proposals and fee proposals for the work.
Ms. van Zelm said the sign to be placed on Storrs Road advertising contacts for leasing of commercial space in Storrs Center was now in production.
6. Approval of Changes to Personnel Policies
Mr. Clouette made a motion to approve changes to the Mansfield Downtown Partnership Personnel Policies related to the provision of payment in lieu of health benefits. Janet Jones seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
7. Update on Four Corners Sewer Advisory Committee
Phil Spak indicated that Four Corners Sewer Advisory Committee Chair Gene Nesbitt and Mansfield Public Works Director Lon Hultgren would be at the March Board meeting to provide a more detailed report on the Committee’s work.
Mr. Spak said the Committee has met four times and has added the issue of water service for review. He said an open house will be held soon as well as a meeting with surrounding property owners.
Mr. Spak said the potential failures of the septic systems in the area was an incentive to evaluate service at Four Corners.
Mr. Callahan reiterated the need to evaluate what it would take to get water to the Four Corners from a logistics and financial standpoint.
Kristin Schwab asked how any potential water service at Four Corners would affect Storrs Center. Mr. Callahan said the University’s water plan continues to plan for water to Storrs Center.
8. Report from Committees
Advertising and Promotion
Ms. van Zelm said the League of Women Voters will be sponsoring a presentation on an update on Storrs Center this spring. Steve Bacon said this would be a good venue to get information out on Storrs Center.
Festival on the Green
In Ms. Betsy Paterson’s absence, Ms. van Zelm said the first Festival on the Green meeting is scheduled for February 18 at 5 pm.
Finance and Administration
Mr. Callahan said the Finance and Administration Committee had a preliminary conversation about the Partnership’s FY09/10 budget. Mr. Callahan said the Committee is looking at the major expense items. The budget has remained at the same amount for the last two years with equal representation from the Town and the University.
Mr. Callahan said the development agreement between Storrs Center Alliance and the Partnership requires the Board to review and approve updates to the Business Plan for Storrs Center. Mr. Callahan said Board President Philip Lodewick sent a letter requesting this update from Storrs Center Alliance. The focus would be on a detailed Business Plan for Phase 1A.
Membership Development
Betsy Treiber said that 262 membership renewals had been received for a total of $13,470 in dues. A 2nd letter asking for renewals went out in January. She said at its next meeting, the Membership Development Committee will review the list of who has not renewed and start making reminder calls.
Ms. Treiber said an e-mail had been sent to current members and interested parties regarding membership.
Nominating
Mr. Lodewick said the Nominating Committee had met before this meeting. He said a full slate of nominees were ready for approval by the Board and the membership to become Board members at the start of the new fiscal year of July 1, 2009. Bill Simpson has been nominated by the Mansfield Business and Professional Association.
Mr. Lodewick said the Nominating Committee is recommending an undergraduate student from the University as an additional Board member. He said Ms. Treiber and Ms. van Zelm had met with Jim Hintz, Director of Off-Campus Student Services, who will work with the Board on identifying a way to recruit a student. Frank McNabb asked how long a student would serve and the suggestion was two years. Mr. Lodewick said a proposal will be brought to the Board to vote on at a future meeting.
Mr. Callahan made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. Mr. Clouette seconded the motion.
9. Executive Session – Personnel
Present: Mr. Bacon, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Clouette, Mr. Haddad, Ms. Jones, Mr. Lodewick (by phone), Mr. McNabb, Mr. Spak, Ms. Schwab, and Ms. Treiber.
10. Adjourn
Ms. Schwab made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Jones seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm.
Minutes taken by Cynthia van Zelm.