Present were:

Patrick Gillespie, President	Larry Redmond, Councilman	Michael D'Agnes
Peter Davis, Vice-president	Edward Testino, Councilman	Joseph Arena
Mark Proudman, Treasurer	George Koehler	Anita Greenberg
Robin Rosen, Secretary	John Vincenti
Russell J. Azzarello, Director	Michael Spina

 

 

 

Absent were:

Mayor Barbara Cannon	Alayne Shepler, Business Administrator	Raj Patel
Tom Galante

 

 

The meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m.

Salute to the flag was followed by roll call.

Statement was made that the meeting was held in accordance with the requirements of the Open Public Meeting Act.

A motion was made by Larry Redmond, seconded by Peter Davis and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the November 2003 Treasurer's Report.

A motion was made by Larry Redmond, seconded by Mike Spina and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the November 2003 Bill List.

A motion was made by Mike Spina, seconded by Mike D'Agnes and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the November 21, 2003 meeting summary.

Mr. Azzarello gave his Director's Report.

Mr. Azzarello stated that there have been additional visits to the O&Y site. Mr. Azzarello has been meeting with Cushman & Wakefield, representatives of a large amount of commercial occupants in the office market.

A meeting was held with Mark Unger, CFO and SVP of Empire Golf. Empire Gold manages major golf courses in the state of New Jersey. They are the largest manager of publicly, privately and municipally owned golf courses in the northeast. He has some thoughts on how we should proceed, but wants us to be very cautions because the golf market is declining. He feels that there should be some amenities that we should think about including.

Mr. Azzarello stated that although the golf course being considered has a separate committee, he participates as part of the Economic Development Corporation because of the economic component it brings. We need to have a full understanding of what the values are and how we can proceed.

One of the issues is the ambition we have with the number of rounds we think we can put on that golf course during the year. We may be unrealistic in our expectations.

Mr. Vincenti stated that the weather and the natural downturn of the economy are very big factors. It done right the golf course can be an asset to the community in terms of being a revenue producer and also being an attraction.

Mr. Azzarello attended and economic summit called Einstein's Alley, hosted by Congressman Rush Holt.

Next year will mark the 25th anniversary of Raritan Bay Medical Center, Old Bridge Division.

Mr. D'Agnes stated he did an editorial board review with the Home News Tribune and focused on program development and their affiliation with UMDNJ, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The scheduled appearance before the Zoning Board is December 18, 2003.

Mr. D'Agnes stated that historically Raritan Bay Medical Center has been much more Perth Amboy focused. The investment over the years has been almost two-thirds, Perth Amboy, and one-third, Old Bridge in terms of how the money has flowed and the investment carried forward. Mr. D'Agnes would like to see it be 50/50. They are trying to equalize the investment.

Mr. D'Agnes stated that Mr. Azzarello was nominated to be the Chairman of the Board of the foundation of Raritan Bay Medical Center, following Norman Tanzman who will be stepping down.

Allcare is a longstanding company in Old Bridge Township. They are located on Englishtown Road and provide medical equipment, wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen, etc. They are the second largest provider in the State of New Jersey.

They have offices in Old Bridge, a 15,000 sq. ft. warehouse in South Amboy, a sales office in Union and a satellite office in Cherry Hill.

They would like to consolidate their offices and are looking for one central location. They want to build a 30,000 - 35,000 st. ft. facility in town.

Mr. Azzarello stated that Financial Resources, the owners of the old town hall property, have now outgrown their original 35,000 sq. ft. requirements to 55,000 sq. ft. Mr. Findel is now unsure as to whether he will be building the originally planned upscale building.

Allcare is now interested in occupying the old town hall property. Mr. Vincenti and Mr. Azzarello met with Allcare representatives to discuss the plans and footprints, and hopefully, with minimal change, maybe abbreviate the process for approval.

Mr. Azzarello will work closely with David Findel, Financial Resources and Allcare.

A motion was made by Mike D'Agnes, seconded by Peter Davis and unanimously agreed upon for the approval of the Executive Director's Report.

Mr. Gillespie introduced Mayor-Elect Jim Phillips, who addressed the Board.

Mr. Phillips thanked everyone for all their efforts on the Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Phillips stated that the direction of the board, with regard to the OY& property, is going to be very important to the town.

Mr. Phillips stated that we are one of the few entities that actually own the land that is going to be redeveloped. We have the opportunity for a double benefit - to sell the property and the benefit of the tax base.

Mayor-Elect Phillips looks forward to working with the Economic Development Corporation.

A motion was made by Larry Redmond, seconded by Joe Arena and unanimously agreed upon to send a condolence basket to the family of Joseph Hoff.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m.