HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-18-EDAC-min Town of Lexington
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Minutes of Meeting of February 18,2015
A meeting of the EDAC was held on Thursday, February 18"' at 8 00 a.m. in the Parker Room of the Town Office
Building at 1625 Mass Ave
Members Present John McWeeney, George Burnell, Rick DeAngelis,Naram Bhatia, David Pronchick, Sig Tullman,
and Lelani Foster
Liaisons Present. Charles Hornig (Planning Board), Joe Pato (Board of Selectmen)
Staff Present. Melisa Tintocalis
Members Absent. Larry Smith, Tom Dusel, Bob Richards
Action Items
• Melisa to bring in ndership stats for the REV(Melisa)
• Set up meeting with Town Manager and Griffith or Normandy(Melisa)
• Organize the next steps for a brokers open house in the spring that features Lexington(Melisa)
The meeting was called to order at 8 10 a.m. and acted on the following items
January minutes approved with spelling corrections
Solar Project at Hartwell Selectmen Joe Pato provided an update to the committee on the solar proposal for the
Town-owned land in the Hartwell Distnct. He reported that the proposal will have a small footprint of seven
acres and that the net revenue benefit would be approximately $10 million over ten years Naram Bhatia asked
if the implementation of this proposal would preclude future/potential commercial development on the site The
response to this question was that the lease for the solar hardware is for 20 years, hence most likely no
development would happen during that time Selectmen Pato reported the revenue generated from the solar
project will help offset costs and avoid an operating override
Status of the REV Melisa reported she would bring ndership statistics to the group at the next meeting. The
Committee discussed that given the snow conditions this season and the negative impacts on transportation, it is
important to consider how transportation is mtnnsic to economic development.
Large Scale Commercial John McWeeney reported that Cubist was likely not going forward with the expansion project
at this time He reported that Shire has leased additional space along Hayden and it would most likely take space in the
building that is currently occupied by VistaPnnt. Melisa reported that Carl Valente, Rick DeAngelis met with Bnan Koop
to discuss strategy of the Boston Properties buildings in Lexington, in particular with 17 Harwell that has been vacant for
several years. Rick reported the meeting was productive and that Bnan Koop appreciated the Town's invitation to discuss
the future of these buildings The Committee suggested that Melisa set up additional meeting with other property owners
on a quarterly basis
Tourism. John McWeeney asked Melisa Tintocalis about the status of the Visitor Center Melisa reported that the Visitor
Center was under the purview of the Economic Development Office as of September 2014 The committee discussed the
need to have a future discussion on the role of tourism as a function of economic development as well as the role of the
EDAC in smaller commercial policy decisions
Meeting Adjourned at 9 40AM Next meeting. Wednesday, March 18, 2015