(2^nd Draft) Minutes of the Meeting

March 16th, 2010

Economic Development Commission

Town of Brookfield, CT

Present: Hal Kurfehs Chairman, Robert Onorato Vice-Chairman, Peter Thompson Secretary, Joe Rocky, and Jim Fisher. Absent Dick Cronin, David Matte. Guest, Vinti Singh; Danbury News-Times.

Chairman Hal Kurfehs convened the meeting at 7:15 P.M.

Approval of the Minutes of February 23rd, 2010
Motion to approve minutes was made by J. Fisher and seconded by J. Rocky, Motion approved.

Zoning Issues for Town Center District

A) 3 Story Buildings; This subject will be discussed with Zoning Commission before next EDC Meeting

B) Laurel Hill Road; EDC Commission will wait for the results of Bill Davidson’s visit with the Laurel Hill Road residents.

C) Available Land; Compared to neighboring towns, Brookfield is limited so some consideration will have to be to revitalize existing available commercial properties. 2 parcels in the Town Center District had become available for development. 730 Federal (SW corner of Federal and Laurel Hill Roads.) at 2 acres, and 731 Federal Rd. (East side running South from the High-Tension pole) at 7.2 acres. On the latter piece we already have a lease with a 10,000sf National tenant, pending Inland Wetlands and Zoning approval.

Review New Web Site from Newtown EDC (www.newtown.org)

Hal Kurfehs pointed out the establishment of the new Newtown EDC web site. Unlike our Brookfield EDC site which was created by the EDC with the help of a high school student at no cost to the Town and is accessed through a link on the Town site, theirs is a stand alone site that is professionally done and very effective.

Update & Improve Brookfield EDC Web Site?

We would need to have funding if we were to create a professional EDC web site for Brookfield. A suggestion was offered to discuss this with the First Selectman. The importance of a strong web site is paramount to bring commercial investment to Brookfield.

Proposal for Housatonic Valley Regional Web Site for Economic Development

Hal Kurfehs is a member of the Housatonic Valley Economic Development group that conducted their first meeting of what will be a monthly occurrence. It was suggested that the group sponsor a region-wide ED site that would draw businesses to the region after which the individual Towns would be able to promote their individual strengths.

Brookfield EDC Originated OpEd Article Published 3/14 in News Times

This was featured on the first page of section B “ISSUES” The News Times staff said they would like more of this type article.

Suggestion by News Times Editorial to Submit Article on Town Center

The News Times Editorial Board asked H Kurfehs to submit an article on the Brookfield Town Center District.

General Discussion

Discussed the new web site “brookfield.patch.com” and how we can benefit by it.

We discussed Town’s proposed $5.3m for parks and recreation bond appropriation as well as the $10m for road improvements that was approved by the town residents February 22^nd to go to referendum April 13^th. The EDC Commission voted to show our support and endorse this capital expenditure initiative.

Motion to approve made by J. Rocky and seconded by P. Thompson, Motion approved.

9) Motion to Adjourn was made by J. Fisher and seconded by R. Onorato, Motion approved.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:40 P.M.

P. Thompson