HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-05-21-EDAC-min
Town of Lexington
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Minutes of Meeting of May 21, 2014
EDAC
A meeting of the was held on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 at 8:00 a.m. in the Legion Room in Cary
Memorial Building at 1605 Massachusetts Avenue.
Members Present
: John McWeeney, Rick DeAngelis, Kevin McGuire, Narain Bhatia, Bruce Embry
Liaisons:
Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Joe Pato (Board of Selectmen), Peter Kelley (Board of Selectmen)
Staff:
Carl Valente, Melisa Tintocalis, Melissa Jones
Members Absent:
George Burnell, David Pronchick, Bob Richards, Larry Smith, Tom Dusel, Sig Tullman
Action Items:
Draft marketing/educational materials on the Town’s TIF program policy (Melisa, Melissa)
Conduct tax rate comparison for benchmarking with peer communities (Melisa, Melissa)
The meeting was called to order at 8:10 a.m. and acted on the following items:
Approve previous minutes:
tabled
MassBIO mixer update:
John, Narain and Melisa attended this event, which was held at 4 Hartwell Place. This
event provided an opportunity to promote Lexington’s life science scene, share our bio brochure, and network with
people from the bio industry.
Update on Hartwell Avenue Activities:
Shuttle
– With funding for the second year of the Rev shuttle uncertain, it is possible that the Town and the
property owners may have to split the $145,000 cost to operate the shuttle. Melisa said that there is still the
potential to add service for trips returning to Alewife. Peter noted that we should be careful not to overlap
with service that is already provided by the MBTA. Carl said that there may be a private lot on Hartwell
Avenue that can be used as a commuter lot for pick-up by the Rev. Rick said that MassDOT lots in the
area could also serve this purpose. Peter noted that it may be possible to add a bus to the Town’s Lexpress
contract instead of having the Rev operate separately, as that this would be cheaper. Joe also mentioned the
State’s van share program, which is another effort to arrange group commuting.
Food truck event
– King Street Properties is planning another food truck rodeo in June; this will provide
an additional opportunity to promote the Rev.
Jug handle –
The Board of Selectmen voted to submit a letter to the Department of Transportation to
request a crosswalk at Bedford and Eldred Streets. Joe encouraged the EDAC to do the same.
Infrastructure improvements –
Stantec, the Town’s consultant, will meet with the Hartwell Avenue
property owners on June 19 to review designs for the intersection at Maguire Road. Melisa said that
Stantec favors a roundabout over a signalized intersection, as this will have less impact on the wetlands.
Plans for the Kiln Brook bridge are now for refurbishment as opposed to total reconstruction.
Review of Economic Development Element:
tabled
Discuss co-working space in Lexington:
tabled
Other business:
Middlesex 3
– Melisa will meet with the Executive Director of Middlesex 3 in June to discuss potential
partnership opportunities.
Tax rate comparison
– Carl said that he is concerned with potential tenants’ ability to pay rents; he has
asked Melisa and Melissa to conduct an analysis that compares Lexington’s taxes per square foot on
commercial properties to those of our peer communities. This analysis, which should factor in water/sewer
and CPA charges, will be useful for the Board of Selectmen when it considers tax classification in the fall.
TIF policy
– Carl asked the group whether it would like to consider developing a policy to handle TIF
requests, which are currently handled on a case-by-case basis. He said that the TIF program is a marketing
tool, and that a policy need not identify a specific dollar amounts. Rather, it should be broad enough to
promote our message and indicate that increased redevelopment will yield increased incentive through this
program.
Meeting Adjourned:
10:00 a.m.
Next meeting:
Wednesday, June 18 in the Legion Room