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Home My WebLink AboutIDC COMM 3/22/2016MINUTES OF MEETING poz INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT OOMMI§9fO?VOFF ICE March 22, 2016 j"!D iAl. i f a A O. 40 t `1 The meeting was called to order at 7 PM by Chair Robert Krentzman Members present: Robert Krentzman, Chairman Beth Ashman -Collins Matthew Cummings Krista Hill Cummings David Martin Nancy Wall Kevin Moran Others Present: Maria Correia, Mansfield Holiday Inn Shaun Burke, Planning Director Sharon Friedman, Mansfield Local Cultural Council Lisa Piscatelli, Chairperson, Mansfield Local Cultural Council Bill Ross, Town Manager 1. MOTION to approve IDC minutes of February 16, 2016 (Krista Cummings/Martin). Motion passed. 2. Shaun Burke, Planning Director, Town of Mansfield Krentzman gave a brief update on IDC activities and asked Burke for a personal perspective on how the IDC can best support economic development in Mansfield. Burke has been in Mansfield for 27 years, and has seen huge changes. The rate of development has slowed down considerably, but the impact of the rate of development is still being felt. He referenced the "Losing Ground" publication by Mass Audubon that 20 years ago had found that Mansfield was losing open space at one of the fastest rates in the state. Southeastern Massachusetts is still losing open space at an enormous rate. Advocates like Lenny Flynn and Lou Andrews have been very effective at helping the town address open space preservation. The Planning Board was very pro growth at those times with only two members who cared about open space preservation. Bill Ross arrived at 7:15 Mansfield had been the Gladiola Capital of the World. It also had an industrial history with a steel mill downtown. �; Mansfield, Massachusetts Industrial Development Commission MINUTES Cabot Business Park came in the early 7Os before I-495 had been completed. Cabot, Cabot, and Forbes bought up farms and parcels in advance of the Interstate. There was a huge environmental fight over the construction of 495. One plan had 495 terminating in Mansfield. There has been a lot of industrial development since. For many years there was a real relationship between the town and the owners of the park. TIAA bought most of the park and it was managed by Sherry Clancy and Doherty for a time. Sherry Clancy owned many parcels under the names of straw companies. Dr. Mullen's concern was that we have moved from having one company that owned the whole park, to one company that owned the majority of the park, to having no majority owner. With each generation of ownership and management, fewer parcels are under common interest. This is where the role of the IDC comes in. We need an ombudsman to get in there and talk to the property owners, maintain open channels of communication and talk up the park. Whether it is going to breakfast with them, give them a call, etc. While individuals may move on, the IDC as a committee can provide a continuous point of contact. Maintenance is an issue in the Cabot Business Park. The Town of Mansfield owns the medians and the edges of the roads as part of the right of way. Who is responsible for maintaining the stone walls, lawns, landscaping, signs, and railroad spurs? No one is even quite sure who owns the railroad spurs. It is time to approach businesses about a Business Improvement District to address these issues. Once there is a BID, it will have its own board of directors. IDC could help spur this into being. Mass Department of Housing and Economic Development has people like Emmy Hahn who will conduct informational meetings and training sessions on the formation of BID.1 Medtronic owns one building and leases the others. They are still at the employee count specified in their TIF contract. Ross is looking to find out more about the terms of the lease agreements on the buildings they are vacating. Krentzman asked for updates as they are available. Downtown Mansfield. Our recent vacant storefront survey counts showed an increase from 12 to 14 vacant storefronts in the last few years. The B1 -B2 Main Street area has a niche as long as the rent downtown is low and stays lower than Mansfield Crossing. Downtown gets a bad rap about not enough foot traffic, which means businesses view it as risker. As far as the lack of up-to-date wayfinding signs, we could pursue a Wayfinding Grant from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development. The Northeastern University Capstone Project supervised by Professor Dulaski will make its presentation to the BOS on April 27th 7 PM on Traffic and Parking on North Main Street. Dr. Dulaski's Northeastern students have done detailed studies and recommendations on Oakland Street and on 106 Corridor Improvements. The town is working on implementing several ideas from these projects. 1 Emmy Hahn, Program Coordinator Massachusetts Downtown Initiative (DHED) 617-573-1364 elizabeth.hahn@state.ma.us Mansfield, Massachusetts Industrial Development Commission MINUTES Crugnale's North Common's Estates and The Chocolate Factory are coming in and both are apartments. There is a generation of people who prefer to rent than buy. In response to the concern about the height of condos on Main Street, Burke clarified that the allowed height for structures downtown has not changed recently. Burke has asked about the appropriate mix of commercial and residential downtown. In the B1 Zone we require commercial on the first floor. 75% residential / 25% commercial would be a typical split for a town Main Street. The residential value brings in more revenue per square foot than the commercial development. Apartments have a 98% occupancy rates. Condos have something close to a 92% occupancy rates. Krentzman said that the IDC looks forward to working together. Shaun Burke said he is more than willing to come to additional IDC as needed. Mansfield Local Cultural Council. Chair Lisa Piscatelli Mansfield Local Cultural Council is an offshoot of the state cultural council. They receive state and town funding which they use to fund arts and cultural projects. The group has been researching the possibility of a establishing a Cultural District in Downtown Mansfield. Designating a Cultural District can bring in revenue, visitors, and jobs. It can help identify what the downtown is and help generate excitement. The designated district needs to be walkable, so we are looking at Town Hall to The Chocolate Factory as a geographic area. There are a number of cultural assets in this area including the Black Box Theater and Black Doll Museum. Cultural Districts can help generate interest in preserving and highlighting historic properties. The Mansfield Local Cultural Council is mandated to do a community survey every 3 years and this is the survey year. They will look at the IDC survey results as they design theirs. We do not want to work in a vacuum where we have overlapping interests. Massachusetts has recently done a study on Cultural District and their impacts. Massachusetts Cultural Council would be willing to come down and provide technical assistance. There are templates, frameworks and funding opportunities connected to Cultural Districts. Friedman talked about how the Cultural District could add more coherence to the cultural events downtown and contribute to the "Why Mansfield" story. The Cultural District process also looks at ways the town could visually look better and enhance the arts. This is really important to a sense of well-being. Krentzman recommends that the Downtown Subcommittee meet with the Mansfield Local Cultural Council to understand our mutual interests and work together. Nancy Wall will connect directly with Lisa Piscatelli to facilitate. Mansfield Local Cultural Council's next meeting is April 12th at 7 PM. IDC is invited to send a representative to coordinate. Marketing with Mansfield High School and Bridgewater State University Students Facebook page Why Mansfield 02048 has been launched. Two students have agreed to post once a week. They can post pictures and share highlights from survey results. David Martin pointed out that Mansfield, Massachusetts Industrial Development Commission MINUTES we need to assign people to cover everyday to keep a Facebook page active. He is responding to posts now. All LDC members need to "like" the page. New infographic versions are forthcoming. See Elizabeth's most recent one. The brochure is intended to be posted online so the tri -fold format is not ideal. Send feedback to Krista on the two draft brochures within one week (March 29") Note the Mansfield Bank is running a nice commercial that promotes Mansfield as well as the bank 2. Member questions and comments Future Meetings: Next scheduled IDC meeting is Tuesday, April 26, 2016. (This deviates from our 3rd Tuesday schedule because of a conflict). • March 29th 6 PM IDC- Downtown Subcommittee, Location: Town Hall. Room 2 A/B. • David Martin will invite Bill Benford, Vice President for Commercial Lending, Mansfield Bank. (Martin spoke with Bill Vernon from NFIB who suggested Bill Benford). • Maria Correa spoke with Steve Clancy, who is willing to come to meet with us. • Krentzman will follow up with Fincom to finalize a date. MOTION to Adjourn passes (Martin/Wall) 8:45 PM. Signature of Clerk, Beth Ashman -Collins 4 Mansfield, Massachusetts Industrial Development Commission MINUTES