MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Location: file:///C:/A3A96638/091808.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR’S REPORT 9/18/08

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR’S REPORT 9/18/08

Submitted by:  Joe Sea= crist

Attachment: Latest column in Town Times

 

  1. On the 26th of August, Senator Rob Kane and Representative Sean Williams, along with Carl Siemon, President of the Siemon Company, hosted a breakfast with Lt. Governor Michael Fedele at= the Siemon Company in Waterto= wn. Invited were 18 business leaders from the area, including the Economic Development Coordinator.  Mr. Fedele spent several hours primarily listening to the concerns of the = local business community. Along with being the Lt. Governor,  he is the founder and current= CEO of Pinnacle Group, a Stamford based national firm specializing in information technology solutions, and as such, Mr. Fedele is personally interested in business problems and their solutions in Connecticut.  The group was very frank abou= t the problems of doing business in this state with the highest business tax= es, and one of the highest electric and other energy rates in the nation a= nd Mr. Fedele promised to take their concerns directly back to the Govern= or and the State Senate of which he is President.  It was nice to see the Watert= own business community get this much “face time” with the Lt. Governor and our thanks to Rob, Sean and Carl. It was also nice to rea= lize that while Watertown has many of the same business related problems as many other communities, we are still making progress in attracting new larger business and additional tax revenues to town.

 

  1. Joe McGrail and I attended the P= &Z meeting on 9/3/07 to hear the commission’s concerns and to suppo= rt the application of Frost Bridge Associates for the construction of a C&D construction waste transfer station at the site of the former Watertown Drive-in. The commission had additional questions concerning primarily Fuss and O’Neil’s traffic study, which they recommended be re-done to more carefully consider the impact on Frost Bridge Road of a potential mall on the 262 property.  The commission held their application over for an additional public hearing.

 

  1. The Watertown Farmers market held its = last session on September 13th.=   By almost all measures the market was a success for a first year effort.  During the Winte= r, Lisa Carew and I will be working on suggestions for attracting more ve= ndors and a greater variety next year.  Now that we have been proven to be a success, attracting more vendors might be easier.  It’s pleasing to report, that with the exception of March= ’s Farm in Bethlehem, all the other vend= ors were Watertown based, which made it t= ruly a Watertown farmers market.

 

  1. Joe McGrail and I had lunch with= Joe Yamin, the owner of the former Griffin school concerning his intentions for the property.  He indicated that be would be prepared to appear before this commission at it’s October meetin= g to unveil detailed plans for the property.  He seems to be making progress toward obtaining a major national retailer for the site.

 

  1. The owners of Lombard Plaza<= /st1:PlaceType> (Blockbuster’s-Starbucks) had appeared on the last P&Z commission agenda to propose an additional building at their current s= ite at the corner of Belden and Main Street.&= nbsp; However they apparently withdrew their application at the last minute.

 

  1. The P&Z held a public hearin= g on the Town’s application to erect a steel recreation building in Veteran’s Park on Nova Scotia Hill Road. Some of the neighbors h= ired a lawyer who objected that the application was incomplete. The commiss= ion requested the town withdraw the application until it was more complete, which the town agreed to do.  This should be of some concern to the EDC, since P&Z has be= en consistent in requiring that no steel buildings be allowed in town, without three sides being faced with masonry facades.  Allowing an all steel buildin= g in the park, with no masonry facades, which abuts the business park, may result in a precedent of allowing steel buildings in the business park= .

 

  1. Tamarack Energy is in the final approval stages for their last permit prior to construction.  The DEP has to hold a public hearing on air quality, and pending a successful hearing, the plant wi= ll be free to break ground for construction.  They have already begun test borings.

 

  1. Spoke with Bill Tynan, the attor= ney for the new buyers of the former Oster property on Frost Bridge Road, concerning potential property tax breaks for new personal property the new owners will have to buy.  I indi= cated that the town would forgive up to 90% of the taxes on a downward slidi= ng scale over the next five years.  For the information of the EDC, those taxes will be refunded to= the town from the state, so there is little actual tax loss to the town.  Tynan also indicated that the Torrington Area Health District is being asked to approve the current septic system as usable for up to 80 employees, when Oster had fewer t= han 12 employees.

 

  1. A local commercial real estate b= roker inquired whether we had space available in our business park for a 100,000-125,000sf new construction building for a potential client.  I indicated that the Drubner property was approved for three 100,000sf buildings and that the Tedes= co property was approved for a 100,000sf building.

 

  1. Spoke with a local contractor concerning his possible purchase of a small piece of property in the industrial park for the storage of his construction equipment.  I indicated that the P&Z = had previously not approved that same lot for the same purpose without the construction of a building to house the equipment.  He agreed that a pre-applicat= ion meeting with P&Z was his next step.

 

 

 

ECONOMIC VIEW(Town times column for 9/18/08)<= /p>

By Joe Seac= rist, Economic Development Coordinator, Town of Watertown

 =

BREAKFAST WITH THE LT. GOVERNOR

 

On the 26th of August, Senator Rob Kane and Representative Sean Williams, alo= ng with Carl Siemon, President of the Siemon Company, hosted a breakfast with = Lt. Governor Michael Fedele at the Siemon Company in Watertown. Invited were 18 business lea= ders from the area, including the Economic Development Coordinator.  Mr. Fedele spent several hours pri= marily listening to the concerns of the local business community. Along with being= the Lt. Governor,  he is the found= er and current CEO of Pinnacle Group, a Stamford = based national firm specializing in information technology solutions, and as such, Mr. Fedele is personally interested in business problems and their solution= s in Connecticut.  The group was very frank about the problems of doing business in this state with the highest business taxes, a= nd one of the highest electric and other energy rates in the nation and Mr. Fe= dele promised to take their concerns directly back to the Governor and the State Senate of which he is President.  It was nice to see the Watertown<= /st1:City> business community get this much “face time” with the Lt. Gover= nor and our thanks to Rob, Sean and Carl. It was also nice to realize that whil= e Watertown has man= y of the same business related problems as many other communities, we are still maki= ng progress in attracting new larger business and additional tax revenues to t= own.

 

FIRST ANNUAL FARMERS MARKET ENDS

 

It was with a tinge of sadness that we said goodbye to= the end of the first annual Watertown Farmers Market.  The community support was outstand= ing and our thanks to the public from both the Economic Development Commission = and the Recreation Department.  Ka= te McKeon, the Marketmaster and Lisa Carew and all the people at the recreation department did all the heavy work and deserve much of the credit for its success. Our 10 week run saw almost all the original vendors stay for the f= ull 10 weeks, and they all indicated that they would come back again next year.=   During the coming Fall and Winter = we will be discussing how to make it even bigger and better for next year, so = if you have any ideas please send them to Seacrist@watertownct.org or carew@watertownct.org  We are always glad to hear about n= ew ideas.

 

TAMARACK ENERGY GETTING LAST PERMIT PRIOR  TO GROUNDBREAKING

 

As you might imagine, getting all the necessary permit= s to build a new power plant takes many years, so it was good news to hear that Tamarack Energy, which is going to build a 30 megawatt wood chip burning pl= ant in Watertown’s business park, is in the process of receiving it’s last needed permit from the state. They hope to have the plant built and to be on-line by no l= ater than 2010.  Tamarak has been drilling test borings at the site this summer in preparation for constructi= on. This, of course, means that they will be a major taxpayer to Watertown, perhaps even the largest. Th= eir taxes will help offset the personal property taxes which we all currently p= ay.

 

MAYBE A NEW SPORTS BAR IN WATERTOWN

 

The Economic Development Coordinator has met with an interested party to discuss preliminary plans for a new sports bar in Watertown. Detail= ed plans will soon be wending their way through the Planning and Zoning Commission, = the EDC and any other commission for final approval. The proposal will be prese= nted in conceptual form to the Economic Development Commission at it’s reg= ular meeting on September 18.  More details in subsequent columns when more is known,