Meeting Notes for Friday, November 21, 2008. 

Present:  Don Abbott, Skye Hirst, Roy Andresen, Bob Shotwell, Roger Moody, Joan Phaup.

Visitors: Camden Select Board Members Deb Dodge and Anita Brosius Scott, Camden Town Manager Roberta Smith

Meeting Notes for the November 7 meeting were approved and will be posted on the Web site.

Project Updates:

• C-R-L Chamber of Commerce News: The three area chambers met two or three weeks ago. Skye will get an update from Eric Waters.
• Camden Cinema Committee Report – Bob, Dave, Don, Carla, and Ray – The building will be vacant as of January. We have laid out a project management chart and estimate this project will take about two years at a cost of about $1.5 million. Three contractors are putting together cost estimates for the renovation. We are moving to the view that this should be a for-profit enterprise utilizing a social entrepreneurship model. We need to appoint a corporation with a president and a board; once we find someone to run the enterprise we will step away from it in order to avoid any conflict of interest. We have coordinated all our planning with the Camden Opera House and regard this project as a complement both to the Opera House and the Strand Cinema. 
• November 4th Referendum Follow-up: Wayfarer Zoning and Tannery Site Redevelopment –
  • Wayfarer plans are going ahead and are in the Planning Board scheduling process. The site plan for the marine buildings was approved. Wayfarer hopes to start work this spring on Building A in the Lower Yard. The red sheds are going through the building permit process.
  • Roberta Smith will meet with Chris Shrum at KWRED to discuss the future of the Tannery, and the new Camden Community and Economic Development Committee (CCEDAC) will be working on the Land for Jobs marketing plan. A promotional packet will be prepared soon. CAFG can help by passing information about any interested buyers to KWRED.

CAFG Annual Meeting Follow Up: Creation of CAFG Task Teams to Pursue the Following Actions in 2009:

Task Teams Created Thus Far Are To:

• Redevelop a Camden Downtown Cinema - Bob, Dave, Don, Carla, and Ray
• Explore Green Energy Opportunities – John, Philip, Dave and Richard. (It was recommended that a member of this committee [Philip] attend the Town Energy Committee meetings occasionally. They meet at 5:30 p.m. on the first Monday of each month in the Washington Street Conference Room.)

Appointments Made to Task Teams to Accomplish the Following:

• Conducting an Internet Capacity Analysis – Joan volunteered for this group and will seek additional members within the business/technology community.
• Preparing Statistical Reports Concerning Jobs, Unemployment Rate, Employment Trends, Retail Sales, and Other Measures of Economic Activity to Allow Thoughtful Analysis by CAFG and the Community.  Create and Issuing an Annual Camden Area “State of the Economy” Report –John, Don, Eric Galant
• Developing a Commercial Space Inventory for Businesses Seeking to Locate in the Camden Area – Roger, Skye, Ray (part of a team under CCEDAC’s umbrella.) Could the inventory be put online (via a wiki, perhaps) so that owners can update it easily?
• Holding CAFG Forums to Focus Community Thinking on Economic Issues, Including Helping to Convene a Meeting of the Camden and Rockport Select Boards Concerning Economic Development. (Perhaps forums could cover other topics, too.)

Our Next Regular Meeting Will Be Held on Friday, December 5th, from 8-10 a.m. in the Washington Street Conference Room. We‘ll invite Robert Peabody, the Rockport Town Manager, to discuss the Rockport Select Board’s 2009 priority of becoming more business friendly.