MANSFIELD DOWNTOWN PARTNERSHIP, INC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
Mansfield Community Center
Wednesday, September 8, 2004
MINUTES
Present: Martin Berliner, Tom Callahan, Mike Gergler, Al Hawkins, Janet Jones Philip Lodewick, Betsy Paterson, Dave Pepin, Caroline Redding, Steve Rogers, Phil Spak, Frank Vasington, David Woods
Staff: C. van Zelm, L. Cole-Chu
1. Call to Order
Philip Lodewick called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm.
2. Opportunity for Public to Comment
Howard Raphaelson noted that the Storrs Center project was moving from dreams to reality. He reiterated his support for housing for seniors who will add to the spending capacity of the area.
3. Approval of Minutes
Mike Gergler made a motion to approve the August 3, 2004 minutes. Betsy Paterson seconded the motion. The motion was approved with one abstention by Dave Pepin.
4. Appointment of Mark Hammond to Finance and Administration Committee
Tom Callahan made a motion to appoint Mark Hammond to the Finance and Administration Committee. Dave Pepin seconded the motion. Mr. Hammond works at A.G. Edwards and is an alumnus of the University of Connecticut. The motion was approved unanimously.
5. Report from Committees
Besty Paterson reported that there has been a lot of advertising done for the Festival and a major community effort was underway to make the Festival happen. It is a good kickoff to the Storrs Center project.
David Woods said the Advertising and Promotion Committee reviewed preliminary proposals for the kiosk and should have a report soon with more specifics.
6. Update on Municipal Development Plan and Related Storrs Center Project Issues – Steve Maun, LeylandAlliance
Steve Maun, President of LeylandAlliance, introduced the LeylandAlliance team – Lou Marquet, Monica Quigley from Leyland, Harry Lassiter from the Lassiter Group, Hideaki Ota, Richard Munday and Herb Newman from Herbert S. Newman and Partners, Michael Klemens, Tom Cody from Robinson & Cole, Geoff Fitzgerald and Bob Landino from BL Companies, Max Reim, Joanne Maislin, and Maeve Callery from Intrawest-The Village People.
Mr. Maun said the team’s first step was to understand the site, its environment, and constraints. Lou Marquet said the property was flown with a new aerial produced, and a new topographical map. They have good mapping now.
Michael Klemens reviewed the wildlife, wetlands and vernal pool on the site. He said the larger vernal pool on site produces much food for the deciduous forest ecosystem. The project will protect the vernal pool.
Mr. Klemens said they should be able to improve the stormwater run-off on the site.
Mr. Marquet said the team has had a field meeting with staff from the CT Department of Environmental Protection, and the Army Corps of Engineers to review the quality of the wetlands, and develop a stormwater management plan.
Max Reim said the Intrawest philosophy is to create the commercial heart and soul of the community. They are working on gathering the demographics of the area as well as talking to residents, and students. Mr. Reim said the team starts with a Commercial Development Analysis, which in this case is 90 percent complete. They are at about 75 percent completion with the budgeting for the commercial piece of the project.
The team is now working with the architects and designers to “create the magic” – the people connection. Mr. Reim said they are about 90 days away from completing this piece of the commercial analysis.
Mr. Reim said that 96 percent of Intrawest tenants are retained.
Mr. Maun referred to Mr. Raphaelson’s comments and said that the team is very interested in the Active Adult component of the project and it would be a central piece of the housing. They are working with consultants Zimmerman Volk on residential issues. They will look at the different housing markets that are planned.
Herb Newman reviewed a preliminary sketch of the site plan. He said the team’s hope was that Storrs Road would become a pedestrian Main Street. The intensity of development would be at the green. Housing over retail is another concept they are endorsing.
Janet Jones asked what the strategy is to work with CDOT to allow Storrs Road to become more pedestrian oriented and quiet, in the downtown area. Mr. Newman said the thinking at CDOT has changed from just trying to get the traffic through to thinking more about how traffic flows relate to the pedestrian. There may be more congestion but slowing people down will get them to stop and go into the stores.
Mr. Newman and Mr. Reim said the integration of the surrounding neighborhoods including the School of Fine Arts complex will be key to the success of the project. The flow of people is essential.
Mr. Maun said that after the site analysis was done and in an effort to protect some of the active wildlife areas, there is just over 14 acre available for development. Tom Callahan asked what the effect of the new footprint would have on the market analysis. Mr. Maun said this will effect how large the tenant spaces will be.
Dean Woods suggested that the team, particularly Intrawest-The Village People, meet with the School of Fine Arts as they bring in over 200,000 patrons a year. They are also working to expand their summer programs as well. Dean Woods said he would share the economic impact information that the School of Fine Arts has put together with Intrawest-The Village People.
Mr. Maun said the team is looking at parking structures and has brought on a parking consultant.
Mr. Callahan said the Partnership is entering a new and even busier phase. It will be important to manage the Storrs Center project effectively. Executive Director Cynthia van Zelm will need help with the administrative aspects of the job. Mr. Callahan said the Finance Committee has recommended that the Partnership hire a person to work up to 25 hours a week for a total budgetary cost of $25,000 to $30,000. This cost was not budgeted this year. He expected that a combination of additional resources from the University and the Town, philanthropic support, and grants will be able to cover the cost. Mr. Callahan made a motion, based on the Finance Committee’s recommendation, to craft a job description for an administrative assistant, and increase the budget of the Partnership by $25,000 to $30,000 a year. Mr. Lodewick seconded the motion. Ms. Jones said the Festival took a lot of work and she would be concerned about doing it again without additional staff support. Mr. Lodewick noted that the Partnership had not even begun addressing issues at King Hill Road, and Four Corners. The motion was approved unanimously.
8. Adjourn
Mr. Callahan made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Steve Rogers seconded. The motion was approved unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 5:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia van Zelm
Executive Director, Mansfield Downtown Partnership