Minutes: Feb. 2015 meeting

[Christel Manning]

The Economic Development group met on Monday, Feb. 16, 2015, from 6 – 7 pm at 333 Front Street. Present: Christel Manning, Diane Panasci, David Hunter, Donna Cappuzo, Lisa Fitch, Lee Cruz, Nathalie Bonafe. A big thank you to David for providing delicious food!

 

1)   Riverfest Planning. Lisa has given our press release to Channel 8. They are interested but still in transition to the new format for the show, so now specifics yet. Lisa did not yet have a chance to discuss beer/food with Kevin again; she will do that before our next meeting. She also reported that the Old Barge is scheduled to be disassembled starting on March 15. It will put in a container and shipped to NYC where it will be rebuilt as a museum/bar/restaurant. She has asked the organization in charge to have a presence at Riverfest, with a table about their activities. Christel emailed fund-raising flyer to all, but not everyone received it. She got the padding certification requirements from QRWA. She also contacted Martin T. about extra paddling volunteers; unfortunately, he already has another commitment that weekend. Donna reported on research she did on children’s activities. The clown she liked is not available, but she’s looking for another one. Pony rides aren’t practical because the weight limit would exclude many bigger kids. There’s a farm that provides lamas and baby goats for petting; kids love it, but it would cost at least $550, so we would have to do some fund raising. Lee suggested we contact the Peabody to get them to bring their pet-the-sea-creatures trough, which might be free. So we will pursue both options. Lee also spoke with Steve Fontana about getting the city to provide police for the event. We need 3 officers if we want to close Front Street between Chatham and Pine. Steve will support this as part of the Main Streets initiative and the Dining/Wine Tasting Walking Tour that will follow Riverfest. Lee mentioned that Elm City Cycling may do a short bike tour starting at New Haven Green and ending at Riverfest. Several other ideas were discussed, including having a donation box (so we can give something to the bands), inviting artists to set up tables and sell their wares on Front Street (not sure if we need permits) and encouraging people to bring chairs (this needs to go into our ads).

 

Action steps for next month:

--Lisa (together with Lee?) will talk to Kevin to reach an agreement about beer and food. This is a good deal for him because we are covering both police and toilets this year (two major costs he complained about last year), plus he can set the prices for beer and people will want to buy what they are tasting.  

--Lee will ask Steve if artists would need a permit to sell non-food items on Front Street

--Christel will forward new info (Good Night Blue Moon band has committed; name of beer company) to Lisa so she can follow up w. Channel 8

--Christel will follow up w. Carlos about any new information on bands or beers

--Christel will resend fund-raising flyer to everyone

--Christel will check Riverfest website; contact Carlos to help update it

--Donna will follow-up with Peabody

--everyone will think of at least one business they could approach about funds (if you actually contact that business by next meeting you get a gold star)

 

2)  Main Street program. Thomas Burwell has organized a meeting on Thursday, Dec. 19, 6 pm, location TBD.

 

3) Dining Out Night. There’s a new restaurant in the old Humphries location that has generated some positive buzz (the most recent one, Madden’s Gastropub, went out of business). Lee will try their food, and if it’s good, we’ll go there in March.