HomeMy WebLinkAboutIDC COMM 11/15/2016MINUTES OF MEETING
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT
Members present:
Bob Krentzman, Chair
Beth Ashman Collins, Clerk
Nancy Wall
Others Present:
November 15, 2016
Krista Hill Cummings, Vice Chair
Matthew Cummings
Kevin Moran
Maria Correa, Mansfield Holiday Inn
Jen McCabe, Mansfield High School Student, Marketing Intern for IDC
Emily Sullivan, Mansfield High School Student, Marketing Intern for IDC
Bill Ross, Town Manager arrived at 7:50
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Chairman Krentzman called the meeting to order at 7:11 PM with six members present.
MOTION (Hill Cummings, Wall) to approve minutes of October 18 PASSED.
MOTION (Hill Cummings, Wall) to approve Downtown Subcommittee Minutes of Oc, 18 PASSED.
Discussion of BOS Downtown Strategy Committee- Nancy Wall IDC Representative.
Nancy Wall gave an update. The goal is to integrate efforts around Downtown from all
municipal perspectives: BOS, Finance, Planning, Beatification, as well as Economic
Development. It is a forum where we can bring our subcommittee work to this broader
group. Nancy is optimistic that this will be beneficial to helping us implement our ideas. The
next meeting is December 12. Two business owners were present including Linc Todd from
True Value who is an appointment member and visitor Rich Golemne from Beade Cache.
George Pantos of Jimmy's Pub was away.
Update from Downtown Subcommittee
Krista Cummings described the new marketing program targeted at Wheaton College
students. The plan is to start in January to offer student discounts to Mansfield restaurants.
It will be cross -promoted by Wheaton Student activities and GATRA. Nancy has already
received a positive response from 6 restaurants. We have a parking map from the Planning
Dept. that we can use to create a guide map.
A promotion to the business park would be next project. GATRA is not serving the business
park, today but that would be high leverage.
Beth Ashman gave an update on the discussion about signs. We are thinking about the signs
that point people to downtown, signs to welcome you to downtown, signs that show public
parking downtown, and the banners. These are all visible from vehicles. There is also the
welcome and wayfinding signs we need at the Train Station to be visible to pedestrians. We
want them all to work together to help create a sense of place. Beth reached out to Doug
Annino to learn about the work the Town of Mansfield had done on sign design and he shared
a set of sign and banner drawings. We want to use the "Mansfield" font consistently with
towns signs. We are thinking that the Downtown Brand is a subset of the Town of Mansfield
brand. We are thinking about marketing Downtown Mansfield using a brighter color palette
than the black color scheme used to identify municipal buildings. The Town uses the Town
Seal on their signs, which we would not use to market Downtown because it represents the
town as a whole. Beth shared some visuals on her computer (attached to the minutes). The
group brainstormed about what icon could be used in downtown marketing: the gazebo, the
hornet, the train, or the goose. Members expressed interest in having a downtown logo and it
finding a way to use civic involvement in the process. Next step is to reach out to art teachers
or MMAS for input on how to engage students or community. Nancy Wall is in discussion
with Caitlyn Barrows of the Downtown Business Association who is working on purchasing
banners.
Discussion of SEED marketing and informational materials.
Lori Driscoll will be at our December meeting. She shared two brochures, which Krentzman
distributed to everyone in the room: "Brockton Business Loan Program" and "SBA 504
Program:' She is going to do one for Mansfield. Krentzman would like to have these
resources linked from our website.
Report on IDC website, social media and marketing campaign including IDC Brochure
Krista has received feedback from IDC members on the website and the interns will start
working on implementing the changes. Emily and Jen will also update the brochure. Our
Facebook site is up to 506 likes. Jen posted about the turkey brigade. Emily posted about the
Veterans Parade and an event at Flint Farm. They are going to create a Snapchat geofilter for
Downtown Mansfield.
Review of business list/contact info and town map provided by the Town Manager
Bill Ross arrived at 7:50 and indicated that the interactive map is coming together. Bill is still
verifying that all the included information is public information before sharing the database.
(` Krentzman talked about our next opportunities to do a press release on our work. In order to
achieve our goals, Mansfield needs to have an economic development director for the town of
Mansfield. Krista suggested that making the case for this should be a high priority between
now and town meeting. This is a marketing task. The next step is to discuss with the town
manager.
Discussion about future speakers
Nancy Driscoll is confirmed for Dec. 20. Maria Correa will reach out to GATRA to invite the
director to join us Dec 20 also. Krentzman had reached out to Chris Pernock (developer of
the former Episcopal Church at High and Rumford) asking him to give us insight on
redevelopment downtown and particularly his thoughts on the N Main Street Fire Station.
However Chris Pernock declined, indicating that it feels pre -mature to talk about the Fire
Station. We will ask the Town Manager to brief us on the status of the Fire Station.
Member questions and comments
Moran asked Bill Ross about the tax levy and assessment. Assessment values have gone up.
Mansfield's industrial / residential split was held steady. The 2.5% cap excludes the new
growth. This was a move done strictly to help fund the schools. The state has not met their
responsibility in Chapter 70 and special education funding.
Future Meetings: Next Scheduled Meeting: Tuesday, December 20, 2016 7 PM.
MOTION to Adjourn passes (Wall/ Hill Cummings) 8:25 PM.
Signature of Clerk, Beth A.sh'ma Collinsavo
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