The January meeting of the Syracuse Redevelopment Commission Friday began with Clerk-Treasurer Julie Kline swearing in the members. Members of the commission are Dan VanLue, Paul Stoelting, Larry Siegel, Ernie Rogers and Syracuse Town Manager Henry DeJulia.

The commission elected officers and approved tax increment finance reports. DeJulia explained the reports had to be approved by the commission for both the state and the Syracuse Town Council.

Discussion quickly turned to the new technology park north of town. The commission will ask the town council for a resolution deeding the park to the Syracuse Redevelopment Corporation so the redevelopment commission can enter into negotiations to sell the lots. When the property is sold the funds will go into a separate fund.

Town Attorney Vern Landis is working on creating articles of incorporation to be filed with the state. Landis is also reviewing by-laws. The corporation will be made up of five members, three; Siegel, DeJulia and Stoelting will be from the redevelopment commission.

The commission turned to creating an incentive package to attract buyers. Discussion revolved around offering grants per number of full-time jobs offered and how much those jobs paid per hour. There was also discussion about possible breaks on tap on fees for water and sewer. The commission decided it is important to keep its options open such as selling a plot, leasing it or possibly building a spec building. The commission reserves the right to negotiate based on capital investment and growth potential from prospective buyers.

Discussion turned to how much commission should be offered to commercial realtors. Usually the commission is 10 percent split between the buyer and seller’s real estate agents. Since the commission is acting as the seller, it won’t be taking a commission. Rogers suggested offering a commission as high as 8 percent. The commission settled on 7 percent as a good incentive for commission realtors.

DeJulia reported the land appraisal has been completed and he thinks it is fair. The state has not yet held an “open house” event at the site with the lieutenant governor. The technology park is 61 acres with two ponds.

Siegel pointed out NIPSCO kept a corner of the property to install a sub station if it’s needed in the future.

In actually marketing the property, VanLue asked if there was a “real IT” person who understood how to make marketing the property on the Internet a priority. There is a website for the park and the park is listed on several online real estate sites.

DeJulia showed commission members a brochure he had made up to market the park. He’s targeting 25 orthopedic based businesses and has handed out about 40 brochures. He also said there have been inquiries about the park.

Discussion turned to using bill boards with VanLue asking if “sophisticated tech people pay attention to bill boards or do they spend (more) time on the computer?” Rogers stated putting billboards up on US 30, where there is a lot of back and forth traffic from Chicago and Fort Wayne is a good idea.

Stoelting asked about purchasing advertising in professional journals. DeJulia said he found that method to be very hit and miss while targeted advertising in newspapers proved to be more productive. The park will also be marketed at trade shows. DeJulia will research various print publications and using billboards.

The last item of business was the Dolan Street property and the Riverfront District. DeJulia noted this area is not good for development given there is a lot of concrete and utilities buried underground. He recommended developing the area for recreation with the possibility of after the construction of the new elementary school converting the old Syracuse Elementary School into a cultural arts center.