NEWTOWN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
LUNCHEON MEETING AT GOODNOE FARM DAIRY BAR
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2003
Approval of the Minutes: Mr. Byelich moved to approve the minutes of the October 2, 2003 meeting as presented. Mr. Roberts seconded; the motion carried unanimously.
Present: Chairman Richard Weaver, Tom Harwood, Hal Roberts, Denise Walsh, Doug Terry, Don Harris, Barbara Anne Fowkes, Lisa Kruse, Marge Frederick, Evan Lambros, Mary Lou Shaffer, Steven Shreiber, Robert M. Pellegrino, Mark Byelich.
Call to Order: Chairman Weaver called the meeting to order at 12:05 PM.
Announcements
Marge Frederick announced that the Feasterville
Business Association and five other associations are sponsoring their 2nd
annual expo at the Radisson on November 5, 2003 from 3:00-7:00 pm. Lots of vendors will be present; there are
booth openings.
Codes Department Business Development Report
Mr. Harwood distributed and reviewed the report for
September 2003. He reported that the
township had just received notice that the Bucks County Water and Sewer
Authority is under a moratorium due to limited capacity by Philadelphia to
accept sewage; more information will be forthcoming.
Approval of the
Minutes
Ms. Frederick moved to approve the minutes of the
September 4, 2003 meeting as presented.
Mr. Roberts seconded; the motion carried unanimously.
Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce
Ms. Kruse announced upcoming events:
Percolator
Program & General Membership Meetings
8:00 - 9:00 AM 2nd
Thursday
November 13 @ Sheraton Bucks County Hotel, Langhorne
Business
Card Exchange 4:30 – 6:30 PM
Thursday, October 30 @ Stonehouse Bistro & Catering,
Newtown
Sharpen
Your Edge Business Technology Seminars
8:00-9:00 AM First Tuesdays
October
7 Increase Your Sales: “A Fresh Look
at Direct Marketing”
Presented by Stephanie Spade (SHS
Marketing Group, Inc.)
November
4 Don’t Pay a Penalty for Success
Presented by Carol White (Carol White,
P.C. Certified Public Accountant) and Anthony J. Pettola, Jr.,
CLU (Advanced Financial Strategies)
Economic Forum 2003
Thursday, October 28 @ St. Mary Medical Center
“Will We Hit the Jackpot?: The Impact of Slots in Bucks County”
Registration and light refreshments start at 4:30 pm.
Joint Downtown Newtown Corporation
Ms. Dunleavy, recording secretary for JDNC, reported
that the grant application is near completion.
Ms. Kruse said that an RFP had been posted for website redesign and
maintenance; they are awaiting responses.
She also said that Newtown postcards are being designed for sale as a
fundraiser. There will be five or six
difference designs; photographs are being collected.
Newtown Business and Professional Association
No report.
Economic Development Task Force
Mr. Weaver reported that there was a subcommittee
meeting to discuss the increase of use by right in the Business Commons; they
will address this and other issues with the Planning Commission at their next
meeting. The next Task Force meeting
is scheduled for October 15, 2003, 8:30 - 9:30 am at the township building; the
township planner will attend. Mr.
Weaver said that the Task Force wants to take a number of issues, including
parking, impervious surface and use by right, through the process to adjust
zoning at the same time.
Mr. Weaver said they had met with the owners of two
vacant properties already. He said that
the Liberty property is being updated and should be filed soon. He reported that someone is also interested
in the Saur Sandstrom building, across from the post office. He said that they Task Force is working to
streamline the process for incoming businesses.
Mr. Lambros inquired about signage. Mr. Weaver said that signs are planned at
the Newtown Yardley Road entrance, which would be the signature entrance, and
at Penns Trail. He noted that Newtown
Yardley Road is on the PennDOT TIP list to be widened. Mr. Weaver said that details of the sign
locations had not been decided yet. He
added that new signs for the bypass related to the Business Commons have been
ordered.
Community Map
Mr.
Worthington said that Ms. Mitchell is continuing her work on the map.
New Business
None.
Speaker: Anita Novia - United States Postal Service
Ms.
Novia said her specialty was mailpiece design, and spoke about how mail is
handled. She said that they are looking
for mailpieces to be designed for handling by automated sorting, utilizing flat
sorters, barcode readers and small parcel/bundle sorters. She said that the Southeast Center processes
2-3 million pieces each night, and that 36,000 - 46,000 pieces per hour are
sorted without a bar code. Ms. Novia
said that optical readers read handwritten addresses, take a picture of the
writing and send it for deciphering if necessary, to sort. The mail is sorted as carrier routes go, and
carriers sort their routes.
Ms. Novia said that the Postal Business Center could
answer any questions one might have; the phone number is 610-964-6441. Ms. Novia said that Mickey, Jimmy or Leslie
should be available to answer questions.
She said that the Bulk Mail acceptance unit could be reached at
610-964-6262.
Ms. Novia presented a number of materials for
Council members to take:
This booklet contains a
great deal of information relevant to mailing, including the most appropriate
fonts to use, sizing, assembling, etc.
Ms. Novia noted that postage
is paid for by any business sending reply mail; some discounts may be
available.
Mr. Terry noted that there are no longer any
mailboxes outside the Post Office for Local Delivery. Ms. Novia said that all mail, including local Newtown mail, goes
to the Southeast Center, where it is sorted and sent out. She said this is actually faster because of
the automated sorting equipment at the Center.
Next Meeting
The next luncheon meeting is scheduled for Thursday,
November 6, 2003 at the Goodnoe Farm Dairy Bar at 12:00PM. The cost is $10.00; please
RSVP by November 1, 2003 to the recording secretary (contact information is
included on the attached agenda)
Adjournment
Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 1:15
pm.
Respectfully submitted:
_______________________________
Leslie P. Dunleavy, Recording Secretary