WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:01.980 My name is Ron Pugliese. 2 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:06.050 line:15% I'm a Western Connecticut State College graduate in 1974. 3 00:00:06.050 --> 00:00:08.030 line:15% I am presently the chairman of 4 00:00:08.030 --> 00:00:11.320 line:15% the Western Connecticut State University Foundation Board. 5 00:00:12.230 --> 00:00:15.120 line:15% In my real life, I am President and CEO of 6 00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:18.440 the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation. 7 00:00:18.440 --> 00:00:22.490 My function and it's a public-private partnership, 8 00:00:22.490 --> 00:00:24.130 line:15% which is somewhat of a unique way 9 00:00:24.130 --> 00:00:25.360 line:15% to do economic development. 10 00:00:25.360 --> 00:00:29.390 line:15% I do not work for the town, but I work with the town. 11 00:00:29.390 --> 00:00:33.310 line:15% I have a board, and we have of course bylaws, 12 00:00:33.310 --> 00:00:36.200 and the bylaws designate how many people should be 13 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:38.930 on the board, who those people should be, 14 00:00:38.930 --> 00:00:43.170 the mayor of the town per his in position, 15 00:00:43.170 --> 00:00:46.780 in this case his position is a member. 16 00:00:46.780 --> 00:00:49.850 The fact that the Mayor is a Democrat, 17 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:53.350 then we have a Republican member of the town council 18 00:00:53.350 --> 00:00:54.470 as a member. 19 00:00:54.470 --> 00:00:57.770 And then we have various business people that are on it. 20 00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:00.200 The public-private partnership is very interesting, 21 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.670 because my role is to do economic development 22 00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:05.680 for the town of Naugatuck. 23 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:08.070 line:15% I run the industrial park which I believe 24 00:01:08.070 --> 00:01:11.000 line:15% is probably the best industrial park in the state. 25 00:01:11.910 --> 00:01:15.360 line:15% I say that and at times I get people from other towns 26 00:01:15.360 --> 00:01:18.380 line:15% who feel theirs is better, but ours is very good. 27 00:01:18.380 --> 00:01:20.610 We're full, we have one vacant building 28 00:01:20.610 --> 00:01:22.810 that we're in the process of trying to sell. 29 00:01:23.880 --> 00:01:25.870 We don't own that piece of property. 30 00:01:25.870 --> 00:01:29.140 It is privately owned, so we're working with the owners 31 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:30.430 and commercial brokers. 32 00:01:32.914 --> 00:01:36.520 We also are working on what is one of 33 00:01:36.520 --> 00:01:38.270 the really exciting things 34 00:01:38.270 --> 00:01:40.860 is a transit-oriented development. 35 00:01:40.860 --> 00:01:42.680 By the name it obviously means 36 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.350 we're right next to a railroad station. 37 00:01:45.350 --> 00:01:48.150 We have a piece of property right downtown 38 00:01:48.150 --> 00:01:50.970 line:15% that used to be the Naugatuck rubber shop, 39 00:01:50.970 --> 00:01:53.480 line:15% Naugatuck Unirail Rubber Shop. 40 00:01:53.480 --> 00:01:56.860 line:15% And so the town now owns it. 41 00:01:56.860 --> 00:01:59.280 line:15% We're in the process of working with a developer 42 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:02.260 to try to get this transit-oriented development 43 00:02:02.260 --> 00:02:03.093 off the ground. 44 00:02:04.290 --> 00:02:07.180 Transit-oriented development by definition basically 45 00:02:07.180 --> 00:02:10.360 is commercial property, commercial businesses, 46 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:13.780 and residential, adjacent to a train station. 47 00:02:13.780 --> 00:02:15.440 That's exactly what we're doing. 48 00:02:15.440 --> 00:02:16.920 So that was an external. 49 00:02:16.920 --> 00:02:19.020 That's where somebody came in, 50 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:20.760 knew we had a piece of property, 51 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:22.380 knew we were trying to do something 52 00:02:22.380 --> 00:02:23.860 with that piece of property. 53 00:02:23.860 --> 00:02:26.990 Somebody, a developer came in with an idea, 54 00:02:26.990 --> 00:02:29.710 and we bought into it and takes a little while 55 00:02:29.710 --> 00:02:31.300 line:15% to get everybody on board. 56 00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:32.970 line:15% Took a little while to get the permits 57 00:02:32.970 --> 00:02:36.950 line:15% and the approval from zoning and some other factors, 58 00:02:36.950 --> 00:02:40.390 line:15% and that's really is the one, the job that I do best, 59 00:02:40.390 --> 00:02:44.640 is I quarterback all this and we're excited about it. 60 00:02:44.640 --> 00:02:47.090 We're excited about what's happening in our town.