HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-16-EDAC-min
Town of Lexington
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Minutes of Meeting of January 16, 2014
EDAC
A meeting of the was held on Thursday, January 16 at 8:00 a.m. in the Legion Room in Cary Memorial
Building at 1605 Massachusetts Avenue.
Members Present
: John McWeeney, George Burnell, Bob Richards, Rick DeAngelis, Narain Bhatia, Larry Smith,
Sig Tullman, Kevin McGuire, Bruce Embry, Tom Dusel
Liaisons:
Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Joe Pato (Board of Selectmen), Peter Kelley (Board of Selectmen)
Staff:
Carl Valente, Melisa Tintocalis, Melissa Jones, Maryann McCall-Taylor
Members Absent:
David Pronchick
Action Items:
Make edits to bio brochure and send to brokers (Melissa and Melisa)
Draft the format for the forum between the Town Assessors and commercial property owners (Carl and
Melisa)
Future agenda item: finalize the plan for a forum between the Town Assessors and commercial property
owners
The meeting was called to order at 8:05 a.m. and acted on the following items:
Approved previous minutes.
Taxable Value of Biospace peer review:
John told the group that the Assessors will do a walk-through with
Alexandria to discuss the accuracy of their property assessments. Carl said that he and Melisa met with the
Assessors to talk about this issue on a broader scale. They thought it might be a good idea to plan a forum between
the Assessors and commercial property owners to discuss issues around property assessment. The Committee is in
support of this, and discussed the following questions regarding the format and content:
Will this be a public meeting/Town-sponsored event, or a more selective, closed meeting?
Will the forum include all commercial property owners or just those associated with Hartwell Avenue?
Will the discussion focus on the accuracy of assessments or will it be a broader discussion of all tax issues?
The Committee recognizes the need for the Assessors to do their job according to the law, but property owners
want to ensure that they are being taxed fairly. The group discussed how the cost of doing business in Lexington
compares with other towns, but acknowledged that it may not be possible to do an “apples to apples” comparison.
Update on Hartwell Corridor Improvements:
Melisa told the Committee that per the State’s order, the bridge
over Kiln Brook now has weight restrictions. Trucks over a certain weight will not be allowed to travel over the
bridge, so those vehicles will need to access the southern portion of Hartwell Avenue through Wood Street. The
repair of the bridge and culvert is a $3 million project; the Town will request funding for this at the spring 2015
Town Meeting. In the meantime, Melisa’s office will continue to seek grant funding for this project.
Status of “The Rev” and future of service:
Melisa noted that the Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) grant
is not guaranteed past the pilot phase of the shuttle. She said that we should start thinking about alternative funding
sources in the event that grant funds are not reissued, and that there are ways to build additional support (i.e. filling
the empty fares back to Alewife in the morning, connecting service to Bedford, etc.).
Review BIO Brochure:
Melisa handed out hard copies of the draft bio brochure and asked for the Committee
members to mark the pages with any additional edits that they may have. She said that a final draft will be sent out
both electronically and via regular mail to life science brokers.
Food Trucks in Hartwell – how to support/advertise:
The Committee discussed ways to promote the food trucks
as a primary amenity for Hartwell Avenue. The group discussed the possibility of monthly or quarterly food truck
festivals to garner and maintain support.
Meeting Adjourned:
9:45 a.m.
Next meeting:
Thursday, February 20 in the Legion Room