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Vacancy subcommittee outlines site visits and broadband constraint for attracting tech businesses
Summary
The vacancy subcommittee reported site visits to vacant properties, described vandalism and potential environmental issues at a Hot Meadow property, and said bringing high-capacity broadband and sewer infrastructure would be key incentives to attract technology and health-care employers.
Lalitha (speaker 7) and Mark (speaker 3) updated the board on vacancy-subcommittee work, describing visits to multiple available properties and differing conditions across sites. Lalitha said one property on Mill Pond was move-in ready while another on Hot Meadow had been vandalized and may have environmental complications.
"We did the site visits. We took a look at some of the buildings ... Mill Pond ... and then Hot Meadow, which was ... vandalized," Lalitha said, describing the committee's early outreach and marketing ideas. Board members emphasized that high-capacity broadband and continuous fiber into town would be necessary to attract high-tech and health-care businesses; staff said the IT director is already contacting service providers to identify blockers and potential solutions. The committee set milestones for outreach and expects written deliverables in late fall.
