Redevelopment Agency

REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MEETING MINUTES Monday, March 26, 2018 100 Broadway, City Hall, Room 319, 6 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair James Quarto, Tucker Braddock, Robert Buckley, James Heist, Anthony Jacobs, Mark Kulos, and Shane Roberts MEMBERS ABSENT: Alderwoman Stacy Gould and Sofee Noblick SUBCOMMITEE MEMBERS PRESENT: None SUBCOMMITEE MEMBERS ABSENT: Barry Ellison of Norwich Public Utilities, Sean F. Buckley, Diba Khan-Bureau and Jennifer Messervy OTHERS PRESENT: City Planner Deanna Rhodes and Recording Secretary Melinda Wilson I. Call to Order Call to Order: Chair Jim Quarto called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm. II. Roll Call and determination of quorum: It was determined a quorum was present. III. Approval of Minutes: February 26, 2018 Meeting On a motion by Tucker Braddock, seconded by Mark Kulos, the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) meeting minutes of February 26, 2018 were unanimously approved as presented. IV. Correspondence: None V. Old Business: a. EPA Grant – City-Wide Brownfields Assessment • Select potential dates/venue for public meeting to publicize potential sites for brownfields assessment Deanna reported on a conversation she had with Amy Vaillancourt of Tighe & Bond. The public meeting needs to be scheduled. Amy suggests announcing the sites on the list. Members of the public might have additional sites to report or show interest in development of certain site. The public hearing process raises awareness of brownfields, and efforts to remediate and redevelop them. Deanna will ask Claire Bessette of The Day to write an article on the process and public hearing. Amy also suggested telling property owners ahead of time that their property is on the brownfield list. Amy will guide the process. 1  After discussion, the RDA members agreed to hold the public hearing during next month’s regularly scheduled meeting of April 23, 2018 in City Hall Room 365 at 6 PM. Amy will present to the public. A goal of the public hearing will be to garner property owner cooperation. At the public hearing, Amy will hand out a list with all sites. Discussion will be held to determine the public’s priorities. The format of the presentation will be discussed between Amy and Deanna. The expected agenda will be 45 minutes for the presentation and 15 minutes for questions, finishing by 7:15 pm. • Discuss next steps in the process Once the RDA has reviewed the comments made at the public meeting and begin prioritizing the list, Amy will present opportunities to the owners of potential priority properties. Once she has heard from all of those property owners, prioritization can occur. b. Ponemah Mills – Assessment Grant Status: Deanna reported good news. Two items had been removed from the grant proposal when the contract from the state was written, a concept plan and a marketing study. She spoke with Phil Biondo from Finn O’Neil, who represents One Key. They discussed the possibility of One Key paying for the concept plan and marketing study. During a meeting on Friday, March 23, 2018, DECD presented Deanna with an agreement stating that the city has to do a resolution and legal paperwork, but the decision was changed to allow the concept plan and marketing study funding to come from the brownfields grant. c. POCD Plan Implementation Committee: Deanna reported on a decision made by the POCD Committee that the best way to proceed was to go through the POCD chapter by chapter. They started with: Grow Economically. NCDC and the Greater Norwich Chamber of Commerce were involved. Challenges were discussed and suggestions were made. The POCD needs to be rewritten by 2023. The City plans to begin looking for a consultant in 2020. VI. New Business: When Deanna met with Paul Biondo, they discussed 3 North Second Avenue, which was purchased by Finn/O’Neil. Environmental concerns include two tanks and potential asbestos in one building. This property needs to be added to the brownfields list. Bob noted that the parking lot in the rear is a separate lot. There may be a tank on the parking lot property. This property also needs to be included on the brownfields list. Deanna noted this is a public/private partnership which will result in benefit to the city. She will notify Amy to add the sites to the brownfields list. Jim Quarto brought a property to the RDA’s attention. Sixty-eight Thermos Avenue has a Victorian building which might belong on the brownfields list. He noted that a Phase 1 study may have been done. Deanna will notify Amy. Jim Q suggested the RDA members take a tour of The Lofts at Ponemah Mills at 1 PM on Tuesday, April 3, 2018. This will be a Special Meeting. 2  Jim Q reported he contacted Attorney Ted Phillips and Attorney Michael Driscoll regarding the piece of land being conveyed to American Ambulance. The two attorneys will meet on March 27, 2018. VII. Citizen Comment: None VIII. Adjournment: On a motion by Mark Kulos, seconded by Tucker Braddock, the Redevelopment Agency unanimously adjourned at 6:37 PM. 3