Economic & Community Development Working Group Discussions - Chatham Square Association2024-03-29T15:27:26Zhttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/group/economicdevelopmentgroup/forum?feed=yes&xn_auth=noMeeting minutes: March 28-April 20, 2022tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2022-04-23:4922875:Topic:1776782022-04-23T18:02:13.784ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
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<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Jonathan, Lisa, Natalie, Kathleen, Neville Wisdom, Lee, Martin T.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riverfest planning continues.</p>
<p><strong>Quinnipiacriverfest.com – Website for promotion</strong></p>
<p>Jonathan – Get with website developer/marketer (Jules) to update and improve the site. Will schedule a meeting with Lee to get access and determine updates.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Funding…</strong></p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Jonathan, Lisa, Natalie, Kathleen, Neville Wisdom, Lee, Martin T.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Riverfest planning continues.</p>
<p><strong>Quinnipiacriverfest.com – Website for promotion</strong></p>
<p>Jonathan – Get with website developer/marketer (Jules) to update and improve the site. Will schedule a meeting with Lee to get access and determine updates.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Funding update</strong>- Lee Update – Loads of Good News –</p>
<p>Brewsquare has committed to $1,200</p>
<p>Community Foundation- $1000</p>
<p>Karen Patrick - $500</p>
<p>Real Living - $500</p>
<p>Mary Wade Home – Not 100% but $750</p>
<p>United Way – Possible $3,000 from previous years.</p>
<p><br/> <strong>Space planning update</strong></p>
<p>Double decker bus is not available at this time for our event. Jonathan is working on a backup option.</p>
<p>Trash – QRM has trash cans but may need to request an additional one time dumpster.</p>
<p>Jonathan needs to follow up on the Map (Community Map).</p>
<p>Martin also expressed that we can request the Porta Pottys from the city for the event.</p>
<p><br/> <strong>Musical entertainment</strong> (afternoon band) – Goodnight Bluemoon (Approx $475 could be higher)</p>
<p><br/> <strong>Food/beer</strong> Jonathan has confirmed permitting and licenses are in progress. Finance administrator: Jonathan will look into opening a sub account to manage the funds (does require some fronting of funds)</p>
<p><br/> <strong>Adult focused activities:<br/></strong> Canoeing/kayaking – Martin – has a fleet of kayaks and canoes as well as runs the cities instructions on this matter. Martin has confirmed that the City needs to be added on the umbrella policy to deploy assets (Property owner). Will pursue a one day rider policy listing the city as a coinsured member. Jonathan will address this matter. Two trailers with canoes – ideally less than 12 to avoid regatta permit.</p>
<p>The “Fun Bus” Gwen Bush request to use this asset on site. Lee will reach out to Gwen.</p>
<p>Requests from elected officials would bring much quicker and better results per Martin’s experience.</p>
<p>Kathleen confirms GreenWave</p>
<p>Kathleen confirms Vespoli Boats</p>
<p>Tai Chi – Haven’t set the program yet but will likely take place between 1-4. This will likely be free. <br/> Dinner dancing (2nd band) Rock Band – Hartford Jonathan will inquire on their availability. Need to be conscious of sound/noise levels. Jonathan will look into purchasing or getting a donation for a speaker and PA system and Mic so we can make announcements in-between bands. <br/> <br/> <strong>Kid focused activities</strong> – Of Kathleen’s 10 organizations 6 have kids related activities.</p>
<p><strong>Artist and Artisans</strong> – Per Lee – Lisa from Art space requested a form and send out to her network. Kathleen has three artist, a photographer, potter and print maker who will be coming. Neville Wisdom volunteered to be contact person for this. Christel needs to send him our form. Once he is setup Lee will connect him with Lisa from Artspace</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Non-profits</strong>-- Kathleen has 10 organizations prepared to attend</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>First draft of schedule</strong> - top agenda item for next meeting<br/></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p> Meeting minutes: Feb. 17, 2022tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2022-02-21:4922875:Topic:1771222022-02-21T20:46:12.571ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa, Lee, Jonathan, Natalie.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We continued planning. Next meeting will be Tuesday, March 8 at 6 pm on zoom.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Kid activities (Kirk):</strong> Library mobile is available; staffing may be an issue. We discussed size of vehicle; it should fit just fine. Kids activities will have their own designated area this time,…</li>
</ul>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa, Lee, Jonathan, Natalie.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We continued planning. Next meeting will be Tuesday, March 8 at 6 pm on zoom.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Kid activities (Kirk):</strong> Library mobile is available; staffing may be an issue. We discussed size of vehicle; it should fit just fine. Kids activities will have their own designated area this time, near main entrance.</li>
<li><strong>Funding (Lee, Natalie)</strong>: Funding letters have been sent out to all past sponsors. Already go one yes from K. Patriquin architects. We will put her company on website and advertise her new restaurant. Natalie will do grant application to Community Foundation.</li>
<li><strong>Music (Christel)</strong>: All set. Need to decide if we want to invite Music Haven kids to play. Will discuss at next meeting.</li>
<li><strong>Food & Beer (Lisa and Jon)</strong>: All set for now. Kathleen spoke with Courtney at City Seed who said they have affiliated food vendors who may want to come. That’s great, so long as they are licensed. Kath will send Courtney’s contact to Jon.</li>
<li><strong>Non-profits tables (Kathleen)</strong>: Kath heard back from 6 out of 15 non-profits she contacted. Seems like we don’t have any plant vendors this year. But there will be a couple more kid oriented organizations.</li>
<li><strong>Arts & craft vendors</strong>: We still need a arts & crafts vendor coordinator. Lee said Gina is interested in doing it in 2023, but that doesn’t fill this year’s slot. Lee will contact Lisa at Art Space and also Daniel at Arts Council. Christel will reach out to David Hunter at MWH to see if he can recommend someone.</li>
<li><strong>Canoes or kayaks (Christel)</strong>: Yes from Martin; playing phone tag to nail down specifics. Christel will follow up w. him.</li>
<li><strong>Outdoor space & furniture</strong>: Lisa sent map with preliminary layout; Jon explained this at our meeting. He spoke w. Chris Randall about bringing the bus; if so, it would sit in middle behind music stage. Lisa reported Wacoma can provide 80 chairs & 20 tables of various sizes (6-8 feet long). We encourage folks with special table needs to bring their own, and for everyone to bring own chair. Lee said city charges $165/day for stage, plus $60 fee. We will try to get that waived, since ours is a community activity. But they charge $600 to set it up. Stage is flat w. railing on 3 sides, variable in size, can be expanded to 30x36 feet, more than we need. We still need to get tent or cover to protect musician instruments from heat or rain.</li>
<li><strong>Set up and take down</strong>: Jon said the Boxing organization will provide volunteers. Devonne will supervise and be our liaison.</li>
</ul> Meeting minutes: Feb. 1, 2022tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2022-02-04:4922875:Topic:1768752022-02-04T23:22:18.614ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa, Lee, Jonathan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We continued planning. Next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6 pm.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dates (Lee)</strong>: This year’s date will be June 4, 1-6 pm (rain date June 5). This date falls after other local festivals, so we might pass out flyers about ours at those.</li>
<li><strong>Funding (Lee)</strong>: A&I…</li>
</ul>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa, Lee, Jonathan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We continued planning. Next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 17 at 6 pm.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dates (Lee)</strong>: This year’s date will be June 4, 1-6 pm (rain date June 5). This date falls after other local festivals, so we might pass out flyers about ours at those.</li>
<li><strong>Funding (Lee)</strong>: A&I will be partnering with a different festival, so they will not be funding us, or providing set up volunteers for our event. However, they may be willing to help promote it. Riverfest has always generated a lot of sponsors; a list from last festival is on our website. Lee will re-contact our previous sponsors. He will also send the letter template to Jon, so Jon can reach out to additional potential sponsors. If Wacoma helps us again, we should add their logo to website. In past years, Natalie Coe has submitted written request for sponsorship to Community Foundation. We should ask if she’s willing to do again.</li>
<li><strong>Music (Christel)</strong>: Bregamos and Good Night Blue Moon both said yes.</li>
<li><strong>Food & Beer (Lisa and Jon)</strong>: The extension of Covid regulations actually makes it easier to serve food outside. The new marina restaurant has a liquor license, which will allow us to serve liquor samples. Jon contacted East Rock Brewing; they will get back to him. The marina restaurant will run a booth for people outside to order food; they also promised to hire extra staff. They have no problem with us inviting other food vendors; perhaps sushi or smoothies.</li>
<li><strong>Non-profits tables (Kathleen)</strong>: Kathleen has contacted 2 additional organizations: Vespoli and Junta artisans. We agreed to continue past policy of waiving table reg fee for NPs. But we may need to limit the number of tables we provide due to space available. Kathleen will facilitate proving map of walking trail for marina to post.</li>
<li><strong>Arts & craft vendors</strong>: Margaret was in charge of this last time; she passed her vendor list to Christel. We need another person to coodinate. Action item: let’s all suggest at least one name for next meeting!</li>
<li><strong>Kid activities (Sheila, Kirk)</strong>: Kirk will confirm June 4 date. Book Mobile may need to leave by 5 pm.</li>
<li><strong>Canoes or kayaks (Christel)</strong>: Martin seems willing, said he needs to check tides. Lisa said high tide June 4 is around 3:30. Christel will follow up w. Martin.</li>
<li><strong>Outdoor space & furniture (Lisa)</strong>: Can we get chairs from Wacoma? Lisa will ask. Jon, Lisa, and Lee will do a walkabout and scan in provisional layout map before our next meeting. We need young, strong volunteers for set up and take down. Christel will ask Sheila to ask her friends. Jon will also reach out to people.</li>
</ul>
<p> </p> Meeting minutes: January 2022tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2022-01-21:4922875:Topic:1770292022-01-21T21:28:30.488ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa, Lee, Jonathan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>MARINA: Jonathan reported Tavern on State will partner w. marina owners to open a new seafood restaurant, expected to open in April. Bait shop has moved to marina yard and will be open to public.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: Covid seems to have peaked, so with luck we can have the festival again this year. We started planning.…</p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa, Lee, Jonathan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>MARINA: Jonathan reported Tavern on State will partner w. marina owners to open a new seafood restaurant, expected to open in April. Bait shop has moved to marina yard and will be open to public.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: Covid seems to have peaked, so with luck we can have the festival again this year. We started planning. Next meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 1 at 6 pm.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Dates (Lee)</strong>: first choice is May 21/rain date 22; the following weekend is Memorial Day, we may consider early June. Lee will speak with Festival of Arts & Ideas to see if they will partner with us; this will determine date. We try later start time this year, like 1 – 6 pm, so event goers can linger into evening.</li>
<li><strong>Music (Christel)</strong>: Bregamos Drummers, Goodnight Blue Moon; Christel will reach out to them.</li>
<li><strong>Food & Beer (Lisa and Jon)</strong>: new restaurant will provide food for festival; indoor dining area will likely be closed during that time and reopen for dinner. We can do beer tasting again; also Jon’s company will offer tastings for other types of liquor. They have license.</li>
<li><strong>Non-profits tables (Kathleen)</strong>: Kathleen has list of organizations that came last time, and she made additional suggestions. Would be nice to have teen plant vendors and/or Music Haven. Jon also mentioned a boxing organization.</li>
<li><strong>Arts & craft vendors</strong>: Margaret was in charge of this last time; she passed her vendor list to Christel. We need another person to take this on. Jon may have some leads?</li>
<li><strong>Kid activities (Sheila)</strong>: Sheila and her friends will run crafts as they have done in the past.</li>
<li><strong>Canoes or kayaks</strong>: QRWA is no longer available to do this. Christel will reach out to Martin to see if we can get equipment from city. Lee suggested JR Logan may be able to get folks from CanoeHaven to take people out on the water.</li>
<li><strong>Tents & Tables</strong>: We got these from Wacoma last time, but now they are using all their tents due to the renovation. We may be able to get chairs again. Lisa will ask. The marina now has a waterfront outdoor seating area with a small stage, so we should do a walkabout when it gets warmer to maybe rethink where we put what.</li>
</ul> Meeting minutes: July 2021tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2022-01-21:4922875:Topic:1770272022-01-21T21:26:33.400ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Monday, July 12, at 6 pm at 333 Front Street, New Haven. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa Fitch, Natalie Coe, David Hunter, Lee, Abby.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>DINING OUT NIGHT: We are going back to in person events. Next time at Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant, July 28, 6-8 pm. Lee will confirm with owner; then Natalie will post.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>MARY WADE HOME: The new wing plans to open in second week of September. Tours are available. David…</p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Monday, July 12, at 6 pm at 333 Front Street, New Haven. Present: Kirk, Kathleen, Christel, Lisa Fitch, Natalie Coe, David Hunter, Lee, Abby.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>DINING OUT NIGHT: We are going back to in person events. Next time at Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant, July 28, 6-8 pm. Lee will confirm with owner; then Natalie will post.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>MARY WADE HOME: The new wing plans to open in second week of September. Tours are available. David reported on efforts to address problems with Chatham Square Park and adjacent liquor store (drinking, drugs, and trash). He sent letter to mayor, met with Sargent Fumiati, walked the neighborhood with him several times. Lee suggested Friends of Lewis Street Park might be able to help. City is not doing anything, perhaps because liquor store building owner works for the city. Next steps: find out when their liquor permit expires; contact LCI specialist Carmen Mendez; contact Drew at Friends of Park.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>MARINA: Lisa reported marina is under contract to sell to local investors, PGX Investments, who are also purchasing other real estate on Front Street. They plan to continue to operate the marina and the restaurant and keep Lisa on as manager.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>STRONG SCHOOL: Lee reported that city formed a committee that includes Jeff Moreno from the city plus some local residents to plan for redevelopment of the building. The committee used grant funds to hire a consulting company, Interboro, to do a marketing assessment and plan. They are soliciting public input via a survey posted on CSNA. Later this summer they will provide 3 possible models for operating the building plus a list of possible developers. Then city will do another RFP.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVER STREET: Lee reported on proposed development projects. Actor Michael Jay White wants to do a movie studio called Jaigantic; they are currently operating in Shelton but will have much more space in New Haven. The city had leveraged the proposed movie studio to persuade New England Brewery, currently located in Woodbridge, to relocate to River Street. But now the movie studio says a brewery will be too noisy, so the city is proposing an alternate location at the end of Q-River park, near the Brewery Square apartment building. The location is better (much nicer view of river), so hopefully it will come through. </p>
<p>OTHER BUSINESS: There were a couple more agenda items that we did not cover, due to time or persons responsible not being at this meeting (noise ordinance proposal, shot spotter proposal, updates on Mill River Trail and other gardening projects, planning for possible Fall CSNA event at Chatham Square Park). We will put these on the August agenda.</p> Meeting minutes: April 2021tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2021-05-14:4922875:Topic:1734362021-05-14T19:57:10.527ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Monday, April 12, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Christel, David, Margaret, Kathleen, Natalie.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>FALL EVENT: At our last meeting we explored possilbe Fall CSNA event to coincide with the opening of MWH expansion. David discussed this plan with the director of the new building and they advised against it because MWH opening date is uncertain and they want to keep visitors inside the new building. We then brainstormed alternate…</p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Monday, April 12, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Christel, David, Margaret, Kathleen, Natalie.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>FALL EVENT: At our last meeting we explored possilbe Fall CSNA event to coincide with the opening of MWH expansion. David discussed this plan with the director of the new building and they advised against it because MWH opening date is uncertain and they want to keep visitors inside the new building. We then brainstormed alternate ideas, including planning an urban agricultural fair with arts, crafts, games, and harvest competitions (e.g., prizes for the biggest tomato or zucchini squash). We will revisit this topic when we meet again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>SOUP NIGHT AND DINING OUT NIGHTS: Natalie is coordinating these. Christel suggested leaving postings up for at least a week. We discussed adding bakeries (Pan de Ciel, Roccos, Apicella) and whether these should be contacted first (so owners know we are supporting them). Natalie doesn’t know the owners, and nobody volunteered to go contact them, so we decided to let this go for now. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>OTHER BUSINESS: David reported on problem with trash and loitering outside Clinton Avenue package store. We may explore organizing around this later in the year. There will no meeting in May. </p> Meeting Minutes: Feb & Mar 2021tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2021-04-01:4922875:Topic:1730592021-04-01T21:32:52.567ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Monday, Feb. 1, at 6 pm, and on Monday, March 8, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Lisa Fitch, Christel, Lee, Kirk, Margaret, Kathleen, Alex, David Hunter, Natalie Coe, Mark Duda.</p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We discussed various options, including in-person social distanced event, a substitute zoom event, or cancel at the Feb. meeting. Various substitute options were floated, including on online bazaar for vendors who normally attend and having a film made…</p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Monday, Feb. 1, at 6 pm, and on Monday, March 8, at 6 pm on Zoom. Present: Lisa Fitch, Christel, Lee, Kirk, Margaret, Kathleen, Alex, David Hunter, Natalie Coe, Mark Duda.</p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We discussed various options, including in-person social distanced event, a substitute zoom event, or cancel at the Feb. meeting. Various substitute options were floated, including on online bazaar for vendors who normally attend and having a film made about the river and then doing a zoom premiere. At the March meeting we took a formal vote to cancel Riverfest and not do a substitute event. Instead, we discussed planning a Fall event to coincide with the opening of MWH expansion. This might include a community cleanup of adjacent Chatham Square park and setting up tables for local businesses and non-profits to provide info about their goods and services to people coming to check out MWH. David needs to check out this plan with the director of the new building to make sure it doesn’t conflict with her plans. He will report back in April meeting.</p>
<p>SOUP NIGHT AND DINING OUT NIGHTS: Christel has been posting Dining-In week events. Alex suggested we might also include Bakeries. Natalie Coe volunteered to take over posting these events.</p>
<p>OTHER BUSINESS: Kathleen’s grant application to have IRIS women make quilts for the opening of MWH was only partially funded, so she will not move forward with the plan. She also reported that the Growing Entrepreneurs will take up her suggestion of building clothesline racks.</p> Meeting Minutes: December 2020tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2020-12-08:4922875:Topic:1278532020-12-08T18:23:22.958ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Moday, Dec. 7, 2020, from 6 – 7 pm on Zoom. Present: David, Kathleen, Christel, Natalie, Margaret, Kirk, Alex, Allan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We discussed whether or not to plan a Riverfest in 2021. Event is normally held in May, and we normally set a date about 6 months prior, but it’s unclear if Covid will be sufficiently under control by that time. We decided to revisit this question in early February.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>STRONG SCHOOL:…</p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Moday, Dec. 7, 2020, from 6 – 7 pm on Zoom. Present: David, Kathleen, Christel, Natalie, Margaret, Kirk, Alex, Allan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: We discussed whether or not to plan a Riverfest in 2021. Event is normally held in May, and we normally set a date about 6 months prior, but it’s unclear if Covid will be sufficiently under control by that time. We decided to revisit this question in early February.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>STRONG SCHOOL: There have been on-going meetings between city officials (Keith Lawrence) and people in our neighborhood (David, Lee and others) on developing a new RFP for Strong School. This RFP incorporates the planning ideas of various community wide meetings. They have some grant money to hire a consultant who will help market this RFP to potential developers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>SOUP NIGHT AND DINING OUT NIGHTS: We currently cannot have these events due to Covid, but we are considering other ways to support local business. We discussed re-starting the promotions Lee posted earlier this year, which encouraged neighbors to get take out from a particular restaurant during a specified time period. Christel will follow up on this. We also brainstormed on how to support other types of businesses. Natalie suggested we find out what would be most helpful to them. Alex said the Management Team has a contact list for local business; he will forward this to us. He is also doing walking tours contacting local businesses about Covid info, and he may make additional contacts there. David said he’ll check if the Chamber of Commerce has a business listing by zip code.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>NEW BUSINESS: Kathleen presented a proposal for community collaboration: the IRIS women’s sewing group makes lovely handcrafted items (they have sold these at Riverfest in the past). CSNA would provide a little funding, and the IRIS women could make a couple of lap-quilts to be presented as a gift to Mary Wade Home to celebrate the opening of the new residential facility. The process for getting CSNA funding for such a proposal is not entirely clear (we might consider posting information on our website). Christel will follow up with Lee.</p>
<p> </p> Meeting minutes: February 2020tag:chathamsquare.ning.com,2020-02-20:4922875:Topic:850602020-02-20T23:36:14.614ZChristel Manninghttps://chathamsquare.ning.com/profile/ChristelManning
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, from 6 – 7 pm at Quinnipiac Marina, 315 Front Street. Present: Kathleen, Christel, Natalie, Margaret, Lee, David, Lisa, Kirk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: Kathleen, our non-profits coordinator, reported on various groups that want to do tables at Riverfest. These include NH Land Trust Growing Entrepreneurs, Schooner Camp, Sound School, IRIS, Greenwave, and others. We have a limited number of tables, so Kath will…</p>
<p>The Economic & Community Development group met on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, from 6 – 7 pm at Quinnipiac Marina, 315 Front Street. Present: Kathleen, Christel, Natalie, Margaret, Lee, David, Lisa, Kirk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>RIVERFEST: Kathleen, our non-profits coordinator, reported on various groups that want to do tables at Riverfest. These include NH Land Trust Growing Entrepreneurs, Schooner Camp, Sound School, IRIS, Greenwave, and others. We have a limited number of tables, so Kath will encourage groups to bring their own. Margaret, our vendor coordinator, has a list of last year’s arts and crafts vendors. She will invite them to come back; depending on how many do, we may invite additional vendors. Vendors will pay a reservation fee for tables; non-profits will not. Kirk, our library liason, will check if the Book Mobile can come back. Natalie, our grant writer and furniture coordinator, successfully applied for a Community Foundation grant to support our festival. Lisa, our food and beverage coordinator, reported that a new restaurant will be opening in the marina soon. They will create a limited menu for us so that food prep will go quicker and we avoid the lines we had last year. Lisa also confirmed that East Rock Brewery will be back to provide beer tastings. Lee, our chief fundraiser and PR man, has updated the Riverfest website and will be doing social media advertising. He will print a limited number of paper posters for anybody who wants to distribute them. Christel, our boating, banners and music coordinator, has posted our Riverfest banner painting event on CSNA website. She reported that Martin from Parks Department has agreed to provide canoes and staff. Everything is looking good!!!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>STRONG SCHOOL: There will be a meeting on Friday, Feb. 21, at 1 pm, between leaders of our neighborhood (David, Lee, and others) and City of New Haven urban planning leaders to discuss a new RFP for Strong School.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>SOUP NIGHT AND DINING OUT NIGHTS: Next soup night will be Sunday, March 1, 5-7 pm, at Junta for Progressive Action to benefit earthquake victims from Puerto Rico. CSNA has raised more than $400 from neighbors to help buy soup, and remaining funds will go to Junta. Event will be covered by local TV station.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>OTHER MATTERS: David reported on negative news media coverage of Fair Haven. There was a dispute over the Hartford Archdiocese wanting to consolidate 3 Catholic elementary schools, and some ex-police chief trashed our neighborhood because he opposes having kids from East Shore go to school here. Many of the stats he cited are old but Register readers wouldn’t know that. On the positive side, the Junta event may get us some positive coverage.</p>