Town Council Approves $5,000 for Artifex Branding Study

Other Committee · Meeting of July 14, 2026

Bloomfield's Economic Development Commission and Development Agency, lacking a quorum, reported the town is seeking $12 million from the state's Community Investment Fund to redevelop its town center, with a decision not expected until September. Officials said the grant would cover acquisition, demolition and environmental testing, and that a developer RFQ/RFP should "hit the streets" within two to three weeks. Town Planner John reported the town collected $1.547 million in development fees against a $1.2 million budget.

Members discussed using the town's delayed affordable housing trust fund to help existing homeowners, not just developers, after learning a prior rehabilitation loan program lost track of its own records. The Development Agency reviewed a newly approved $5,000 Artifex branding contract for the Granby Street/Cottage Grove Road district, with firm owner Lauren Rosen finding the original, unbuilt-to-spec design for the area's existing sign. Officials also confirmed an August meeting with Cigna's new chief executive, Brian Banco.

In the full story:

• Quorum and Old Business
• Commission Member Update
• Consultants Report and the Cigna CEO Meeting
• Town Planner's Report: Permit Revenue and the Apartment Pipeline
• Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Homeowner Assistance
• Plan of Conservation and Development Status
• Town Center Redevelopment and the $12 Million CIF Request
• Development Agency: Granby/Cottage Grove Branding and the Artifex Contract
• Recruitment and Adjournment
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 2,857 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of July 14, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.

The Full Article

Quorum and Old Business

The meeting began at 8:37 p.m. with the chairperson, referred to in the meeting as Bonnie, announcing the body lacked a quorum. Approval of the May 12, 2026 minutes was pushed to the August meeting as a result. No old or new business beyond that was taken up; the agenda moved directly to member and staff reports.

Commission Member Update

Members paused for a moment of silence for a longtime commission member identified only by his first name, Bob, who died. A member identified as Denise was thanked for leading the moment. A celebration of his life is expected in September, with details to follow through the commission's usual communications.

Consultants Report and the Cigna CEO Meeting

Background and stakes: Bloomfield officials have for years sought direct access to Cigna's top leadership as the insurer remains one of the town's largest employers and taxpayers. A speaker identified as Dave said that in the ten to twelve years he has been involved with Bloomfield, officials were never able to secure a meeting with former Cigna chief executive David Cordani, who Dave said kept the company's headquarters tied to the area in part because "he didn't want to leave Simsbury," referring to Cordani's personal ties, not Bloomfield's.

The question before the body: whether to note and support an already-scheduled meeting between Bloomfield's mayor, town manager, town planner and economic development representative and Cigna's new chief executive.

Substantive content: Dave told the commission the mayor, the town manager, Town Planner John, and he will meet with Cigna's new chief executive, whom the meeting identified as Brian Banco, a longtime Cigna employee who the group believed was named among the region's top health care influencers. Dave said the meeting was booked roughly a month earlier but will not occur until August. He said Brian Kudelbeck, described as functioning almost as "a Bloomfield public relations person for Cigna" and active in the Bloomfield Chamber, will also attend and has previously helped the town obtain employment data from the company.

The deliberation: Bonnie asked about the new chief executive's background, and neither John nor Dave could immediately recall where he was from; Dave offered to forward a Hartford Business Journal profile to a staffer identified as Rebecca so she could circulate it to the full commission. Bonnie raised the idea of discussing Bloomfield's prospective "one percent for the arts" public-art funding concept with Kudelbeck or with a Bloomfield-specific charitable foundation that she said previously funded Boundless Playgrounds installations in town.

"When it went from CG to Cigna, the whole ballgame changed."unidentified commission member 00:01:30

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote was required or taken; this was an informational update. A related process question arose about whether the Development Agency or the Economic Development Commission is the appropriate body to bring zoning-related proposals forward ahead of the Town Plan and Zoning Commission (TPZ). Town Planner John said there is "no flat-out legal prohibition," but that elected council members have historically stayed out of direct TPZ and wetlands decisions, while an advisory body such as this commission can properly recommend zoning changes that support economic development.

Implications and what is next: The Cigna meeting is set for August; commission members asked to be kept informed and to receive background materials on the new chief executive before then.

Town Planner's Report: Permit Revenue and the Apartment Pipeline

Background and stakes: The commission reviews the town planner's monthly and year-end reports as a standing check on development activity and department revenue performance.

The question before the body: how actual development fee revenue compared to budget, and what pace of apartment construction residents should expect going forward.

Substantive content: Town Planner John reported the town had budgeted $1.2 million in development-related fees for the year and collected $1.547 million, which he and commission members characterized as beating the budgeted projection. He then outlined the apartment proposals he expects to drive activity in the near term: an 800 Cottage Grove Road proposal; a project referred to as "Paul Butler's one"; a roughly 250-unit proposal in the town center; an approximately 150-unit project on Woodland Avenue that he said "just sort of hangs out there"; and a proposal associated with the First Cathedral. He said these are apartments, not condominiums, and that outside of redevelopment, "there isn't a hell of a lot of land left" for large projects after this cycle.

The deliberation: A commission member asked whether anything could help existing homeowners afford to stay in and maintain their homes, distinct from new apartment supply. Town Planner John said there is no direct mechanism, though downsizing residents moving into new apartments does free up existing housing stock.

"I think the big push will be in the next 10 to 14 months."Town Planner John 00:09:04

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; informational report accepted without objection.

Implications and what is next: Town Planner John said he expects the current flurry of proposals to be largely complete within ten to fourteen months, after which the pace of new apartment construction should slow due to land scarcity, barring future redevelopment of existing parcels.

Affordable Housing Trust Fund and Homeowner Assistance

Background and stakes: Bloomfield's housing trust fund ordinance remains without finalized operating policies and procedures, which Town Planner John said are about a year behind schedule. The town also has unresolved history with a prior rehabilitation loan program funded through pass-through federal and state money.

The question before the body: whether and how the housing trust fund, and a previously piloted bank-administered loan program, could be redirected to help existing small homeowners rather than only incentivize large developers.

Substantive content: Town Planner John said the fund's enabling ordinance contains a broad policy statement that the town council could amend to authorize staffing or homeowner-focused programs. He said one or more developers are considering payment-in-lieu contributions instead of building required affordable units, and that a single developer paying in lieu over a ten-year project life could contribute roughly $3.5 million to the fund. He cautioned that a prior town rehabilitation grant program, funded through state-passed federal money, became hard to administer: when a new town finance team arrived roughly a year to a year and a half ago, auditors asked for the status of the program's loans and grants, and "none of us have been able to find a complete data set" showing which properties carried liens, had been repaid, or had received grants versus loans.

The deliberation: Bonnie asked directly whether trust fund money could pay for staff dedicated to a small-homeowner program; Town Planner John said "potentially," noting the council could amend the ordinance. A commission member recalled a previous effort, arranged when Justin held the town planner position John now holds, in which Windsor Federal Bank agreed to administer a revolving homeowner loan program so that repaid loans could be reissued, without consuming town staff time. The member said a Windsor Federal representative, identified as David Iannucci, who also sits on the East Granby Economic Development Commission, remained interested in reviving the concept, and that the earlier program required 50 percent of funds to serve certain areas of town, including the Blue Hills neighborhood.

"I would be very unhappy if I had to actually leave."commission member 00:13:32

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote. Staff agreed to "dust off" the prior bank-partnership proposal for further review.

Implications and what is next: No funding decision has been made, and the housing trust fund's operating policies remain unfinished. Any homeowner-assistance component would require town council action to amend the fund's ordinance.

Plan of Conservation and Development Status

Background and stakes: State law requires municipalities to periodically update their Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD); Bloomfield's update, prepared with consultant Goldman and York, has been delayed.

The question before the body: when the POCD draft would be finished and what steps remain before TPZ adoption.

Substantive content: Town Planner John said staff still owes Goldman and York a final introduction and summary chapter, and that staff has now been assigned full time to complete that work, with a goal of delivering it within the week or the following week. Goldman and York would then produce a draft book, hoped for by early August, which would go to the commission for potential preliminary action at its August 20 meeting, followed by a statutory referral to the town council and a public hearing. John said the optimistic goal is for TPZ to adopt the plan at its September meeting. A staff member referred to as Georgie (or Georgia) Driver was said to be formatting the document for final production.

The deliberation: Town Planner John acknowledged the delay stemmed from staff capacity: "We need a document like that to have blocks of time to work on," and said the team had been "striving for perfection over completion," ultimately deciding that "90 percent is good enough."

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; status update only.

Implications and what is next: If the timeline holds, the commission would see the draft plan before its August 20 meeting, with town council referral and a public hearing to follow, and possible TPZ adoption in September.

Town Center Redevelopment and the $12 Million CIF Request

Background and stakes: The town has for several meetings discussed redeveloping its town center through the state's Community Investment Fund (CIF) program, which requires state legislative and executive support to award.

The question before the body: the current status and dollar amount of the town's CIF application, and what it would allow the town to accomplish.

Substantive content: A member identified as Michelle said the state will not announce CIF decisions until September, and that August will be devoted to building support from the town's state representative and senators. She said the town is requesting "just about $12 million," which would cover acquisition, demolition and environmental testing on the town center site. Asked about timing, she said the process is on "a very tight timeline," with the expectation that construction activity, or "dirt moving," could begin within about a year and a half if the grant is approved.

The deliberation: A separate update noted the town plans to issue a new request for qualifications and proposals (RFQ/RFP) for a private developer partner. "I think the other thing, Bonnie, that's happening is that we will be going out for a new RFQ RFP for a developer partner," one member said, adding that the solicitation should "hit the streets" within two to three weeks and that responses would likely return in late September. A member suggested publicizing the RFP's release to address community frustration about the pace of town center redevelopment.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote; informational update.

Implications and what is next: The town center project's next concrete milestones are the state's CIF funding decision in September and the release of the developer RFQ/RFP within the next two to three weeks.

Development Agency: Granby/Cottage Grove Branding and the Artifex Contract

Background and stakes: The Development Agency portion of the meeting addressed branding for the area members referred to variously as the "Granby-Tobey" district, a tax-increment-type district, and jokingly as the "TIPS district." The town council recently approved funding for an initial branding phase.

The question before the body: to review the scope of the newly approved Artifex branding contract and associated sign schematics, and to discuss next steps including a possible design review commission presentation.

Substantive content: A member reported that the town council, with town manager support, approved $5,000 for Artifex, a branding firm, structured in two stages: first, a branding concept developed with Artifex; second, schematic design for the district's two existing signs. Artifex owner Lauren Rosen located the original, decades-old drawing for the Granby Street/Cottage Grove Road sign and told the member the sign as built did not match its original specifications. Artifex has dedicated a design staffer to the project and expects to present initial branding ideas within two to three weeks. The member referenced an idea, attributed to a participant identified as Andrew, for a "BAD," or arts-district branding concept, and mentioned a potential architectural arch design, possibly referencing an existing design in Washington, D.C., though the group may pursue something different.

The deliberation: A commission member asked whether Artifex would present directly to the Economic Development Commission; the presenting member said "I'm sure they will if we ask them to." The same member disclosed that a large, 33-acre parcel in the district owned by his or her family has not yet finalized its development plans, noting that could become relevant depending on how the district evolves. Separately, members noted that property owners referred to as "the Kaplans" are working on two new plans for 31 Tobey Road, which may appear on the TPZ's August agenda.

Procedural steps and outcome: No vote by this commission; the $5,000 Artifex contract was a prior town council action referenced for the commission's awareness. The member proposed routing future branding work through a design review commission before final town council approval and said he was "open to suggestions" on that sequence.

Implications and what is next: Artifex is expected to return within two to three weeks with initial branding concepts and sign schematics for the Granby Street/Cottage Grove Road area.

Recruitment and Adjournment

The chairperson noted that of three applicants expected to appear before the town's committee on committees for consideration as a new commission member, "only Mr. Bryce showed up," which she called "a little disappointing." Members present during the public-comment period included Andrew, Steve and Gail Riley, participating remotely; no public comments were offered when invited. A member identified as Vivian was noted for the record as having joined the meeting at 8:44 p.m. A member identified as Sadiq, who did not attend, was reported to have had an emergency and was unable to give advance notice. Because the body lacked a quorum, the chairperson adjourned the meeting directly rather than through a formal motion. The next meeting was set for Tuesday, August 11, at 8:30 p.m.

WHO WAS THERE

• Bonnie: chairperson, presided over the meeting.
• John: Town Planner, presented the town planner's report, the apartment pipeline update, and the Plan of Conservation and Development status.
• Denise: thanked for leading a moment of silence; spoke on commission business, title not stated in the meeting.
• Dave: reported on the planned Cigna CEO meeting, title not stated in the meeting.
• Justin: described as a former holder of the town planner position; spoke to the history of a bank-administered homeowner loan program.
• Michelle: reported on the town center CIF grant application and developer RFQ/RFP timeline.
• Rebecca: staff member referenced as the point of contact to receive and circulate background materials on Cigna's new chief executive.
• Vivian: commission member, noted joining the meeting at 8:44 p.m.
• Sadiq: commission member, absent; reported to have had an emergency.
• Bob: longtime commission member, deceased; moment of silence held in his memory.
• Andrew, Steve, Gail Riley: members of the public participating remotely; Andrew was also credited with originating a branding idea discussed by the Development Agency.
• Mr. Bryce: the only applicant, of three expected, who appeared before the town's committee on committees for a possible commission vacancy.
• Lauren Rosen: owner of Artifex, the branding firm contracted by the town council for Granby Street/Cottage Grove Road district branding and sign schematics.
• David Iannucci: representative of Windsor Federal Bank, cited regarding a prior bank-administered homeowner loan concept; also serves on the East Granby Economic Development Commission.
• Brian Banco: identified as Cigna's new chief executive, expected to meet with Bloomfield officials in August.
• Brian Kudelbeck: identified as active in the Bloomfield Chamber and functioning as a liaison for Cigna in Bloomfield.

ORGANIZATIONS AND DOCUMENTS REFERENCED

• Cigna: major Bloomfield employer; meeting addressed a planned August meeting between town officials and Cigna's new chief executive.
• Windsor Federal Bank: referenced as the bank that previously agreed to administer a revolving homeowner loan program and remained interested in reviving it.
• Artifex: branding and design firm awarded a $5,000 town council contract for district branding and sign schematics.
• Goldman and York: planning consultant retained to produce Bloomfield's updated Plan of Conservation and Development.
• Town Plan and Zoning Commission (TPZ): the body expected to receive a statutory referral and ultimately adopt the updated Plan of Conservation and Development, and which may consider a Tobey Road proposal in August.
• Bloomfield Town Council: approved the $5,000 Artifex branding contract referenced in the Development Agency discussion.
• Boundless Playgrounds: nonprofit playground program cited as a past example of Bloomfield foundation funding, raised during the "one percent for the arts" discussion.
• Hartford Business Journal: cited as the source of a published profile on Cigna's new chief executive that a member offered to circulate to the commission.
• State Community Investment Fund (CIF) program: the $12 million grant program the town is pursuing for town center acquisition, demolition and environmental testing, with a decision expected in September.