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EDC meeting: working groups set, master‑plan public meeting scheduled, tourism update and public comment on communications
Summary
The Economic Development Commission confirmed working‑group leads (future of work, parking/transportation, arts/culture), set April report‑backs, heard tourism and economic updates from staff, and received public comment urging the city to treat communications infrastructure as a civic priority to discuss in working groups.
After the RAP presentation, commissioners reviewed other business and next steps for working groups and community outreach.
The commission reiterated three working groups formed at the February retreat—future of work, parking and transportation, and arts/culture—with named initial leads and an expectation each group meets and reports back at the April 3 meeting. Members emphasized avoiding duplication with existing studies (master plan, transportation study) and using a decision‑making framework for discovery and prioritization.
City staff offered short updates: Sean (economic development staff) shared macroeconomic notes and local business leads; Ben Fletcher (tourism) outlined upcoming tourism outreach, a planned redevelopment of the tourism website, participation in an outdoor travel show in Montreal, restaurant week dates and work on targeted drive‑market marketing. Ben said staff plan to start fiscal‑year purchases (including potential analytics tools) in July.
Commissioners noted the master plan draft will be the principal item at the April 3 meeting and that a public input meeting on the draft is scheduled for April 22. Members also mentioned recent student government day and ongoing task‑force work on behavioral health and interagency coordination.
In public comment, Jim Wilson asked why Portsmouth does not treat communications as a public‑good utility similar to roads or water and urged discussion of municipal options, zoning tools and regulatory approaches. Staff said that is an appropriate topic for working‑group consideration and offered to connect Wilson with staff and commissioners working on technology and cybersecurity.
