Meeting Minutes – Community and Business Committee

February 8, 2018

Attendees: Jackie D’Agostino (chair, resident), Steve Gieseler (business), Loren Frasco (resident),

Andrea Antell (resident), Debbie Byrne (business), Steve Ascher (resident), David Holewinski (Mayor, nonvoting), Sam Bryant (Borough Manager, nonvoting), Tess LaMontagne (guest)

Absent: Chris Fleming (business), Dave Fermier (business), Jeff Gilmore (liaison to council)

Meeting called to order at 7:38PM.

Jackie D’Agostino chaired the meeting.

Steve Ascher took the minutes of tonight’s meeting.

The meeting followed the agenda topics as summarized below:

  1. Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance were conducted.
  2. Roll call was conducted and attendance is as note above.
  3. Meeting minutes from 11/9/2017 - a motion to approve the minutes was made by Andrea and seconded by Loren. A vote to approve the minutes with changes was taken and minutes were approved.
  4. Nomination of officers for 2018
  1. Chair: Andrea made a motion to nominate Jackie and this was seconded by Loren. A vote was taken and Jackie was elected Chair.
  2. Vice Chair: Jackie made a motion to nominate Debbie and this was seconded by Steve G. A vote was taken and Debbie was elected Vice Chair.
  3. Secretary: Jackie made a motion to nominate Steve A. and this was seconded by Loren. A vote was taken and Steve A. was elected Chair.
  4. Jackie is the Advisory Appointment Committee Representative.
  1. Stephen Barth’s economic development report – this was given by Sam.
  1. DART-West will be set up for New Britain Borough, New Britain Township, and Chalfont with approval from the DART Board. Need to meet with State Senator Chuck McIlhinney about state funding.
  2. The Pretzel Factory has move into Town Center and there may be a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate.
  3. Revolve Fitness is in Town Center. Increased police patrols are being made after a number of customers had their cars broken into.
  4. Industrial Park – a music store may be moving in and other facilities may expand.
  5. University Village – Doylestown Township Municipal Authority is working on a grant application with the Borough to expand public water infrastructure in the area.
  6. Knoell property – a bakery may be moving in. Ground breaking at the Knoell property is scheduled for March. If this does not happen, the committee felt that a sign should be erected announcing the development of the property.
  7. A delegation from the country of Columbia visited the borough and DVU to learn about the incubator business program.
  8. DOC LAND – Two separate developers bought the Doc Land property and adjacent ground, and are working on development plans for the Planning Commission to review.
  1. Unfinished Business
  1. CBC resolution was approved at the December 2017 Council meeting.
  2. NBB Gateway Signage Update – some examples of signage were passed around. Once the CBC decides on type of signage, CBC can make a recommendation and Sam can then ask for funding from Council. CBC members were asked to bring 5 pictures of signage to the March 8th CBC meeting for review. Vendors are recommended (and given specifications) and Council, should they approve the project, recommends the final vendor after reviewing the vendors’ quotes. CBC members were also asked to look at street pavers on Main St. in Chalfont and to discuss their thoughts at the March 8th CBC meeting. Steve G. to put Del Val Trucking in touch with Sam to submit plans for property frontage improvements, including sidewalk and street trees.
  3. Welcome New Residents Folder – Hometown Press did not follow specifications and a draft version will be delayed until the March 8th CBC meeting.
  4. Bench, bike rack and garbage can style options – Sponsorships for the benches will be sold with a metal sign on each bench to acknowledge the sponsor. Need to decide on placement of benches, bike rack, lights, and garbage cans. Tess suggested we look at the Treetop Products catalogue for ideas. CBC members were asked to offer specific recommendations at the March 8th CBC meeting. The style of lights has been chosen.
  1. New Business
  1. New Borough Council Liaison – Jeff Gilmore replaces Robyne Kelemen as Council liaison to the CBC.
  2. Vacant Positions (1 resident and 1 business position) – An application form was filled out by Tess (resident) and will come up for consideration and the February 13th Council meeting.
  3. Borough Branding Items – there was some discussion about items that can be sold or given away that would display New Britain Borough (pens, postcards, memo pads, etc.). Sam to make recommendations. Sam will investigate having a booth at A Day where CBC members (and others) would staff the booth to talk with visitors about the Borough and hand out borough branding items.
  4. CBC Goals for 2018 – will be discussed at the March 8th CBC meeting. Goals should set and tracked.
  5. 2018 Meeting Schedule – CBC meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 7:30PM at the Borough Administrative building. The next CBC meeting is March 8th, 2018.
  6. Any Other Business
  1. Dave H. mentioned that on June 23rd (rain date: 6/24/18) there will be Bridge Lighting ceremony to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the covered bridge and the 90th anniversary of NBB. This celebration will be family-oriented with vendors, food trucks, fireworks, horse-drawn carriage rides, etc. This could possibly evolve into a yearly event.
  2. An electronic business directory of NBB businesses will be discussed at the March 8th CBC meeting. iii. There was a discussion about the CBC meetings not being the appropriate forum for business owners to air grievances.
  1. Adjournment – the meeting was adjourned at 9:21PM.