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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIDC Comm 11/30/2017MINUTES OF MEETING INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION RECEIVED November 30, 2017 7 PM, MBC RoO�Cr.1,t( CLERKS OFFICE Members Present: Bob Krentzman, Chair Krista Hill Cummings, Vice Chair Beth Ashman Collins, Clerk David Martin Kevin Moran Nancy Wall jail UEC IS A 151 Others Present: John Stanbrook, Acting Town Manager Maureen Doherty, Appointed IDC Member for term starting January 2018 Tucker Olen, Mansfield High School Senior MANSFIELD SSACV'USETTS October 26, 2017 meeting minutes MOTION (Ashman / Hill Cummings) to table the minutes until the next meeting. Passes with all in favor. Update from Interim Town Manager on the Town Manager search The town is doing a second round so the process is somewhat extended. Economic development experience is a factor in the search. Forward strategies for IDC progress Krentzman shared the memo on the Mansfield Revenue Task Force. The group discussed how this mission compares to the work of the IDC. The proposed information gathering is duplicative of work of the IDC and there is clearly overlap. Ashman said that the "revenue task force" is described as having a more immediate short-term financial focus than the IDC. The work plan outlined for the Revenue Task Force duplicates some work the IDC has already done. The idea of creating an "Action Plan" document to be adopted by the Board of Selectmen to help everyone rally around economic development might be really helpful. The town does a forward thinking Master Plan every ten years with a chapter on Economic Development and is due to update its plan in 2018, which could be the forum for creating the "Action Plan." Krentzman highlighted the collaborative approach the IDC has taken and welcomed the opportunity to engage more formally with the Selectmen, Fincom and Planning Boards. Ashman, who is also a planning board member, suggested that it would be useful for the IDC to bring our experience together with the planning board to review the impact of zoning in the Business Parks and TOD and see if there are ways we could increase revenue generating potential. There are a lot of high priority tasks and some might be best addressed by Planning or Fincom. Moran gave some background on the kind of financial issues the town is grappling with that are beyond the focus of the IDC. The town has been using free cash to "plug" a revenue shortfall, but is moving away this practice. Kevin said the business / residential split in the tax rate is a concern. Norton is holding the line on business tax rates and competing better than you would expect against Mansfield. Krentzman is going to request a meeting with the Fincom and the Board of Selectmen to follow up. Discussion of Mansfield High School Intern Program Krista introduced Tucker Olen who has volunteered to intern with the IDC. He has launced a own social media marketing agency along with Caitlin Brightmen. They are running Facebook and social media marketing campaigns for a couple businesses around town. Report on progress on IDC website, social media and marketing campaign Olen has been taking details from the survey and made them into graphic posts for the Facebook page. Those have expanded the reach of the page and sparking discussion. The messages are around two themes Why Mansfield and Shop Local, one directed at businesses, one at customers. His goals include boosting the number of followers by cross posting with related sites. We also want to do more with business interviews. We will revamp the "The things to do" section of the website with small business profiles. Hill Cummings said the Xfinity has agreed to link the Facebook posts for shows in Mansfield to our revamped "Things to Do" page. Doherty asked if the town website could add links to the Why Mansfield 02048 Facebook page is https://whymansfield02048.weebly.com/. Everyone agreed. She also asked if Tucker could coach us on how to contribute to the Facebook page and be better advocates. Discussion on IDC Brochure and Mansfield presentation folder Doherty shared a folder and marketing packet from Stoughton that focuses on Permitting. Mr. Krentzman was particularly interested in the Permitting Flow Chart. Mr. Krentzman will check with Shaun Burke to see if Mansfield has created something similar. Discussion Economic Development Director due diligence project David Martin made a proposition for debate: Even if the new Town Manager comes with experience in economic development, the Town of Mansfield needs a full time economic development director. Bob Krentzman said we seem to lack basic documents like the permitting flow chart designed to make things easy for business. That is indicative of the lack of staff time focused on economic development. The time it is taking to get a list of vacant or under -performing commercial / industrial properties is illustrative. Martin said there is a palpable sense of urgency as reflected in the proposal for the Revenue Task Force. This underscores the importance of the Economic Development role. Krista Hill Cummings suggested that pressing forward with research on an economic development director makes sense because changes like this take a long time. Mr. Stanbrook said he will put together language on the position for the budget. Every change to the budget will be hard fought and need compelling justification. Future open Commissioner positions Krentzman welcomed Maureen Doherty, who has been appointed to the IDC starting in January. Kevin Moran's term also runs through 2017 and he will not be seeking to be reappointed, so there is still a need to recruit a new member. Members were invited to reach out to others who are interested. Member questions and comments Martin said we should talk about creating very specific deliverables for the economic development position. For example we could establish a feedback loop to check in with new and expanding businesses after 30 days to learn how the process went and how it could be improved. Schedule next meeting for Thursday December 21, 2017. Adjournment MOTION Martin / Wall) to adjourn. With all in favor the meeting adjourned at 8:30.