BRUNSWICK

Eighteen years after the Brunswick Development Corp. was created and three years since its by-laws last were amended, the public private group’s board of directors is considering numerous changes to policy and personnel.

Board members rolled out a list of the potential changes during their regular meeting Wednesday afternoon. They include creation of a BDC website, and board roster changes that would add one private board member while eliminating an ex officio position.

Currently, Town Manager Gary Brown and Finance Director John Eldridge sit on the board. “It’s about the municipal position, not the person in it,” board member John Richardson Jr. said after the meeting.

The modified by-laws also would contain language governing a Code of Ethics, as well as a section dealing with preventing conflicts of interest. The conflicts clauses borrow heavily from the Freeport Economic Development Committee’s by-laws.

More than just an update, according to Richardson, the amendments are intended to clarify the body’s role in the promoting Brunswick businesses, as well as provide more transparency with regard to how — and to whom — the BDC lends its money.

The changes also are necessary for the BDC’s continued growth and maturity as a local economic tool, according to board president Larissa Darcy.

Board members William Morrell, Richardson and Darcy form the subcommittee that will address the by-law changes for vote during a special board meeting on Oct. 23.

Eldridge will be available as an extra advisory member, and staff member Denise Clavette will transcribe the changes and notes, Darcy said.

The amendments will be presented during the next regular meeting Oct. 16, at noon, in the first-floor conference room in the McLellan Building on Union Street.

Among the BDC’s failings is adequately and accurately presenting itself to Brunswick residents, Richardson said.

“If people knew more about what the BDC has done, I think they’d be less concerned about how it spends its money,” Richardson said.

He cited $93,100 loaned to The Gelato Fiasco that helped the frozen confectioner expand its manufacturing plant in Brunswick rather than relocate to Portland, as well as more than $350,000 awarded to Cool As A Moose and ArtForms, which helped the company relocate its manufacturing and administrative offices from Westbrook to Maine Street.

According to treasurer Joanne Favreau, BDC retains $2 million in assets and approximately $1.3 million in cash-on-hand.