2020-11-09 Town o f B e rlin
Department of Economic Development
BERLIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION Minutes
Monda�-,November 9,2020
LDC Members in person / Public bt- Conference Call—G Pi�'f
Berlin Iioard of L'ducation Conference Room
240 Kensington Road Berlin, CI'
MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
Da�-id Cy�r,Chairman Ed Fgazarian,�'icc-Chairman
Keith I3ostrom Richard Chasse
Peter Campanelli. I3ob Sisti
Chris Coppola
STAFF:
Chris �dge, Economic Dc�elopment Director
1. Call To Order
Chairman Cyr called the meeting to order at 6:02 pm.
?. r�udience of Citizens —No one attended
3. Minutes of the October Special Nleeung
Commissioner Campanelli made a motion modif�-the minutes b�° adding Tax Abatement to item#4.
It«-ill then read Fa�ade Impro�-emcnt�Ta�Abatement. f1 mouon�vas made by Commissioner
Campanelli to accept the minutes as modified and�ti-as seconded by Commissioner I3ostrom. It
passed unanimously.
-�. l�a�ade Impro�-ement�Tas Abatement
• Suburban Sports
Director Edge presented a letter frorn Kcith Nappi,who is the ou-ner of 2��V'ebstcr Square
Road. IIe�eas appro��ed for a facade grant i�i)anuary 2020 for S18,22�2�. IIe is requesting an
eatension of 120 dayTs. His reasoning is the pandemic a��•cll as a loss of business. After some
discussion, Commissioner Bostrom made a mouon to gi�-e I�eith Nappi (K D Realry) an
extension for 120 days (to i�2arch 9, 2021) as has been ��-hat has been done for other applicants.
It�ras seconded by�Commissioncr Chasse and passed unanimousl�.
• Stecle Ccnter @ Farmington t��-c
llirector Edge�z�ent through a letter from'i�on���'alenti,one of the 2 partncrs at Ne�vport Realty
Group. They-have requested a ta� abatement similar to«-hat�vas gi�-cn to)ohn Orsini for the
Turnpike Ridge development As they are doing their project in phases, the�ha�-e asked that the
tat abatements are pl�ased in as �eell�ti�hich��-ould be that once a building is complete,it�vould
get thc 10-y-ear tax abatement. Commissioner Coppola mentioned that he«-ould like to support
Town of Berlin
Department of Economic Development
i��lark and'Iony�vith the project and that�t�e must be consistent Their project is already
beginning to change the face of Tarmington Avenue. Commissioner Coppola made a motion to
appro�-e the tak abatement for Ne�vport Realty-Group«ith the tax abatcment being phased in
for each building once a certificate of occupancy is given. Z'he motion�vas seconded by
Commissioner Campanelli and approced unanimously.
• llairy Queen—806 Farmington A�enue
Discussion ensucd questioning the status of the Dairy-Queen fa�ade application for Dairy
Queen. Director Edge explained that the Planning&7,oning Commission considered the
application at their No�-ember 5�h meeting. "They decided the look as presented��as too
corporate and not enough New Fngland. ���ith some back and forth beriveen the applicant and
the Commission,it«-as decided that a"stone-type" look for the first 3 to 5 feet from the ground
and a clapboard or similar material abo�e the stone work. The Commission membets wcre
pleased that it will ha�-e a morc villagc look to it when complete.
�. Planning& Zoning
• i��fural
Director Edge mentioned that the mural on the side of the building at 384 Farmington Avenue is
no��in the hands of the Planner. Commissioner Campanelli said that action needs to be taken
no�u. The Commission discussed this and announced their frustration�-ith Good Cause Gifts
mo�-ing ahead�eith a mural�vithout an� permission from an�-to«�n department Its sets a ver�-
bad precedent,��°hich���as expressed by Chairman Cyr. i�-lurals�eere a discussion item on the
agenda at the same Plannin�c� 'I.oning meeting on Noeember��h. "1'he P&7 Commission had
asked that some regulations be put in place so that we do not see something«-ith no approcals
or that does not fit into thc village area. But, by the next da�-, the mural«-as being worked on.
Commissioner Coppola said that the L.conomic Development Commission took no steps
be�-ond discussion in late 2019 and ear15-2020 on murals and that they or Director Edge ne�er
made any-motions or gave any appro�-als. ��'ithout a 2nd bod�- (1'lanning& Zoning or Town
Council) blessing our recommendation,�ec ha�re no authorit�;to appro�e things like murals.
• Outside Seating
Through a rccent Esecuti�-e Order from the Governor, outside seating is allo��•ed until Tebruary-
9�,202L This is a good thing, but will Berlin residents be cvilling to sit outside during the colder
months of November, l�ecember,)anuary and February? If so much seating is allo�ved outside,
«-h�-not increasc the amount of people inside? We�vill keep an eye on this and look to get a
restaurant owner to our December or January mecung.
• Contractors in the 13T-1 and F3T-2
The Planning& Zoning Commission has becn approached to see if thcy�vould be open to
allo��-ing"clean" contactors on the I3erlin Turnpilce. At present, they are not allowed. 'i'wo
properues in mind could be dramatically-changed if this use is allowed including the former forlc
lift building at�29 13crlin I'urnpilce and the former garage at 1162 Berlin Turnpike. '1'he
Town of Berlin
Department of Economic Development
Planning& Zoning Commission heard about this at their No<<ember ��' meeting and seemed
amenable to add language to our Zoning Regulations. Vice-chairman Egazarian menrioned that
he is in favor of this, but is concerned as there are 2 property owners ��-hich ha�•e turned their
contractor properues into messes. He asked that we be careful ho�v it is written so that«-e ha��e
buildings w-hich are visually pleasing(4 feet of stone), nice fencing and only allo�v storage behind
or��ithin a building. A motion was made to support the"clean" contractors in the BT-1 and
B7�-2 zones by Commissioner Sisti,but that��-e be sure the language«-ill minimize any
unintended consequences that can occur. It�i�as seconded by� Commissioner Coppola and
passed unanimously. 1�he last piece is that the Commission asked for a list of sites or properues
��hich could be developed or rede�-eloped if this language is in fact added and if«�e should
consider adding a minimum acreage.
• ��� ��lethersfield Road (I�ollou--l�p)
llirector Edge told of a firm which is interested in mo�ing into the building at��� ���ethersfield
Road in to��-n. This property-is no«�under contsact to be purchased from a firm in an adjacent
to«-n. To make the purchasc happen, the bu�-er is looking to have a tenant lease some space.
The tenant is a firm that does ��-holesale and distribuaon for firms in the landscaping and sunilar
fields. After a quick discussion about allo��-ed uses in the PI zone, Commissioner Sisu made a
mouon that the Commission supports a�ti-holesale ficm to locate at�����ethersfield Road. The
mouon u-as seconded b�-Commissioner Coppola and passed unanimously.
6. F�ents�Celebrauon
• Ribbon Cuttings/Ground Iireakings
_�ribbon cutung will be done at I3o�Iii;rr�> ar tlieir 1lain titrcct 1<>cation c�n l�ri�la�, No�-embcr
13�h. Though they ha�-e been operating there for some time,�ve ne�-er did a ribbon cutting. f3oss
Grill did their ribbon cutung on No�-ember 6�'. It«-as�-er�-well attended and they�plan to ha�-e
counter ser�-ice and to-go during lunchtimc and have tablc service after� pm. They�are��-ainng
on the state sign-off for their liyuor permit,but they��-ill ha�•e beer and�vine soon.
• Ilalloween
Comnussioner Sisti stated that he is thrilled at the c�-ent and ho��-it«-ent I Ic sa��kids and
families from i�Zain Strect do�z-n almost to Stop N Shop. ���ith ina��be 300 kid� it�vas dearl�-
necded in I3erlin. ��'ith the challenges of CO�'ID and families unsure of the near future, families
secmed to ha��c a good time. It«-as cxpressed that���e keep this in place or gro�v it in future
�-ears.
7. Coinmissioner Discussion
• Promouon
Commissioner I;gazarian said that he is interested in ha�-ing morc monies in place for marketing
and promotion which�i-e should request for the 2021-22 fiscal year. Ditector L:dge stated that
for this �-car,�ee had S11,000 for markcting and promouon. He thouglit an ask for an additional
S�,000 to S9,000 secros rcasonable. Commissioner Sisti added that as the Board of Finance says
Town of Berlin
Department of Economic Development
they «ill help us if we request monies and���e should shoot higher, say 5�0,000. A fe���
commissioners agreed that�SK to S9I�is too little. From here,�ve would likel�-necd somc plan
or a conceptual plan as approaching the Board of Finance hat in hand is a bad idea especiallj-for
such a large amount Vice-Chairman �gazarian, Coxnmissioner Coppola and Sisti all mentioned
the�-�vould be willing to�vork with Director L:dge on some t�-pe of plan. f� fe�e areas to look at
ate to promote the fact that since earl�-201�,�ve have seen over 1000 jobs created due to fitms
coming to Berlin and etpanding in I3crlin. ��'hatever we do should have a�-isual impact as �ti-ell
as a presence online and in some type of hard copy or similar (billboard%). Commissioner
Coppola again said that the on and off-ramps for thc high«ay-exits in I3crlin seem to be a good
a�-enue to explore. Lastly, Commissioner Egazarian mentioned benches and the potential that
people could donate them in honor of or in mcmory or a lo�-ed one. More information is
needed on both the off-ramps and benches due to cost,��-ho�vould install, etc.
• L.ight Up Berlin
Commissioner Coppola asked if we are going to hold the Light l p 13erlin as ��-e did in 2019.
Support for doing this again�vas verbalized by the Commission. I�e continued«-ith an idea to
make�vinning it something special. His idea is to have a Leg trophy like thc one in The
Christrnas Story. The Commission members�vcre very intrigued by� this and thought we should
do it.
• "I'ree I,ighting
Commissioner Bostrom asked if we are doing a Christ�nas trec lighang and if sq should be shoot
for a �IL�GE tree or at least 30 feet high. I�iaybe look to put it on the Steele Center project
propert�as that has a great amount of visibility-. A coinpcution was mentioned for�vhom
could/�vould donate a tree. Director Edge thought a tree at 903 Farmington r1�-enue(in the
green triangle� seems like a good idea, but that the fire departments have done the tree lighting
for�-ears. I Ie��ould find out whether the5��vould be doing it this year.
8. Adjournment
Commissioner�gazarian mo�-ed to adjourn the meetin�, secondcd b�-Commissioner Sisti."1'he
motion passed unanimouslt-. The time��-as 7:0� p.m.
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