BRUNSWICK

In response to Town Manager Gary Brown’s proposal to cut one of two town economic development positions, town councilors expressed concerns Monday that East Brunswick businesses do not receive enough attention.

Brown said the proposed staff cut would not alter town resources that are available to business owners in the Cook’s Corner area, but Monday’s discussion led some councilors to agree to schedule more strategic talks to target an area that has lost businesses like Bookland, the Atrium, Borders, and Friendly’s in recent years.

“We need positive strategies for Cook’s Corner,” council chairwoman Joanne King said during a budget workshop Monday. “We committed to downtown and I think we did well.”

Councilor David Watson, who represents the Cook’s Corner area, expressed concern that a proposed increase of the town’s tax rate could “make it tough” for businesses he described as being “worried about continuing to operate in Brunswick.”

Those businesses, Watson said, “are as vital as anything else that makes Brunswick what it is.”

King suggested Monday the formation of a Cook’s Corner committee to take on those economic development issues.

Brown said that municipal government has worked to address needs at Cook’s Corner, including the expenditure of approximately $3 million in road and infrastructure improvements in recent years.

Brown said the town’s planning department staff is exploring use of $170,000 in a “big-box fee” fund paid by three Cook’s Corner businesses to revise the town’s zoning ordinance.

Brown said that one of the three businesses paying into that fund — intended for projects specific to Cook’s Corner — has agreed so far to allow the money to be used for rewriting the town’s zoning ordinance.