Greater Franklin Chamber of Commerce
574 Main Street (Rich Farmhouse)
In attendance: Marc Burgin, Ellen Curtis, Bill Gruber, Don Hebbard, Ray Pucci, Johanna VanDeusen, Phil Warish
Minutes from January 4th meeting were reviewed. Bill motioned to accept the minutes with a correction to wording regarding solicitation letter to “Trish will draft a letter”, seconded by Johanna, motion passed.
Treasurer’s update
No treasurer report. Ellen will send renewal invoices with the letter to solicit donations as soon as the letter is available. Discussed the monies from the Christmas Stroll. Ellen will need to hear from the Improvement Society before forwarding funds.
Website
Calendar merging is still occurring. Bill is waiting for more info from the library and they are being selective on what information to add regarding school activities.
Benches and Banners
The only benches remaining are the ones that residents have typically stored on their porches. Banners have all been changed, however, the “season’s greetings” banners could be switched out. A better solution is needed for accessing them. Johanna will contact Frontier and/or Alpine Roofing to inquire about assistance. Perhaps offering presence on our website and/or a banner thanking them in exchange.
Big Buck
Logan Robinson was the winner with a buck weighing in at 158 pounds. Marc will deliver the prize check of $75.00
Economic Survey
Not clear if winners are posted for the drawing. The survey is still available to be completed. Ray inquired about how the information will be shared with other groups in the town and village (Tom Briggs/ Jeff Taggart).
Spring Dance
The fire department has been secured for the location and they will provide refreshments. Marc will follow up with Rich about the band. Options were discussed if the band has not been booked and are not available. Johanna asked for volunteers for solicitation of donations. Advertisement was briefly discussed.
Floor opened up to Ray Pucci
Ray is looking for collaboration between the town and county chamber to better support each other.
County update: County is looking into building a mental health facility; Department of Public Works is looking to build a consolidated facility (there are currently 3 different buildings, move them into 1); county chamber is advocating to have consistent codes and code enforcement (there are currently so many levels of government operating and there are different interpretations of codes); county is also planning on updated the emergency communication towers.
Ray shared the County Chamber’s strategic plan which includes promoting tourism. Under the tourism office, assistance is available to any tourism driven business, whether they are chamber members or not. If larger town events are planned, let Ray know so that he can help promote and get the information on greatwesterncatskills.com and on ILOVENY.com. The Delaware County tourism website is being revamped and they are looking into adding a booking engine for accommodations and events. For more information on the tourism division, Lisa Wisely is the contact person.
County Chamber is looking into subscribing to a service that will offer discounts on various services and items. Ray is hosting a radio program on WIOX in Roxbury, the program is open to anyone who would like to talk about what is happening and/or impacting businesses in our area. Contact Ray if you would like to be a guest, the show is currently every Thursday from 1pm until 2pm but will shifting to every other Thursday. Spoke about county outreach. Wayne bank is open to Chamber presence in their banks, at least a table set up with various information and possibly a member on hand to answer questions. Could be a good spot for a kiosk. They are also looking into establishing a SCORE chapter for Delaware County, and would need outreach locations for that.
The county chamber does 15 to 16 outreach events per year throughout the county.
County Chamber is hosting monthly breakfast “meet and eats”. They are held at various locations throughout the county and the topic subject changes monthly. It is informative and a good networking event. Johanna will talk to The Tulip and the Rose about having June’s Meet and Eat held there. He is working with the IDA on speaking with some of the larger manufacturers in our area to discuss their needs, looking for space in Sidney for this (spoke with Ellen). Upcoming event is in March (15th possibly) for leaders of the town chambers. This particular lunch will be focused on membership. The last such luncheon was held in the fall and most chambers had representation there. Ray will send an invite for the upcoming luncheon. On the topic of dual membership, Ray offered to compile a list of Franklin businesses that have dual membership if desired. He would also like to know when new businesses are opening so that he may participate in opening celebrations.
Don inquired about economic development, what can we do? Rays advice: all of the town/village government and business community needs to work together, contact the county and the IDA as well. Involve the churches to assist in getting things accomplished. Read and know the comprehensive plan (it can be found on the Franklin Local website). When collaborating, use enthusiasm to encourage the common ground.
Next meeting February 22, 2017
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