Norwich — An emotional Norwich Community Development Corp. board met Thursday to set a path forward following the death of President Jason Vincent and to discuss immediate and lasting ways to honor his memory.

Vincent died in an apparent suicide in late December. His vehicle was found parked on the giant New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia, and a body matching his description was found Monday five miles downriver at the Hawk’s Nest Dam. His family confirmed his death to NCDC officials Wednesday.

NCDC Executive Assistant Lee Ann D’Ambrosio said well-wishers already have dropped off flowers at the NCDC office at 66 Franklin St., Norwich. The agency will designate a space for a temporary memorial. Board members discussed a permanent memorial, perhaps in Franklin Square when the junction of Main and Franklin streets is converted into a roundabout — a plan Vincent strongly supported — in the spring.

“Jason was one of the most extraordinary people I’ve ever known in my life,” board Chairman Robert Buckley said. "As people and as members of the community and particularly as NCDC we should find ways to honor Jason and the extraordinary contributions. He was on this Earth for a relatively short period of time, but the impact that he has had on Norwich itself and on the region will last forever, and as a board we should be looking for ways to honor his memory and honor his legacy in some way, shape or form.”

Board member Jason Jones, the former informational technology director in Stonington, said Vincent as director of planning in Stonington served on the hiring committee that hired Jones in 2003. The two “grew together as professionals, as colleagues, as friends,” working together in Stonington and after Jones joined the NCDC board.

“I spent late nights just having discussions with him about life,” Jones said. “This struck me as the greatest surprise, especially because I considered him a friend. Just his thought process. When you sit and listen to him talk about his ideas, his creativity, his passion for community, his passion for the people that he worked with. You don’t find that in everyday people. He was unique in that sense, certainly.”

NCDC is organizing a grief session not yet scheduled to be held at Otis Library, and the agency will set up a donation fund to support local mental health services in Vincent’s memory.

Separately, NCDC board member Swaranjit Singh Khalsa started a social media campaign with the Sikh Sewak Society International, USA to raise awareness about resources available for people contemplating suicide.

“Sometimes, we don’t know what’s going on in someone’s life,” Singh said after the NCDC meeting, “and sometimes people think they are strong enough not to share that pain.”

Board members expressed anger at unfounded rumors that there could have been financial problems at NCDC involving Vincent. Buckley and others strongly rejected the suggestion. Member Michael Rauh, president of Chelsea Groton Bank, called it “a horrible accusation.” Buckley added the board has “no inkling of that whatsoever.”

Buckley, vice president of commercial lending at Dime Bank, said he is the only signor on the agency’s checking accounts and has sole control of the online bank account. He said he set up “view only” authority to board Treasurer Robert Staley and NCDC consultant Devin Schleidt.

Staley added that as treasurer, he is the only person with access to NCDC’s federal COVID-19 relief Payroll Protection Program grant. Staley and Schleidt will review NCDC finances and send a memo to the board.

“The first thing is, Jason was a good, honest man,” Staley said. “The idea that something like this occurred is not right. The fact of the matter is, we have lots of controls in place. There appears to be no loss, and we should just move on.”

Board members praised Vincent’s energy, passion and devotion to improving Norwich and helping local businesses, and they hope to find someone with similar passion along with professional qualifications to take over the top position at the city’s economic development agency. The board approved a six-member search committee to find an interim president and conduct a search for a permanent successor.

Buckley said Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region Executive Director Nancy Cowser and Southeastern Connecticut Cultural Coalition Executive Director Wendy Bury have offered technical assistance to NCDC for its daily operations in the interim.

Current staff, D’Ambrosio, Schleidt and Community Manager Mary Riley will handle daily activities, and board members will be asked to oversee specific tasks, Buckley said. The top priority is the new $219,569 COVID-19 Community Development Block Grant to assist small businesses.

A committee of NCDC and outside people is being established to review the applications.

Staley suggested that with so many projects in the works, NCDC seek both a new president and an assistant. Staley, who also chairs the Norwich Board of Public Utilities Commissioners, said he would propose that Norwich Public Utilities raise its annual contribution to NCDC from the current $150,000 per year to cover the salary of the added position.

c.bessette@theday.com