New London — Before even signing contracts with its new executive director and assistant director and its new partnership agreement with the city, the Renaissance City Development Corp. board started scheduling meetings with developers, state officials and one of the largest businesses in the city.

The board voted unanimously to approve two-year employment contracts with Norwich Director of Planning and Development Peter Davis, the nonprofit agency’s new executive director, and with Frank McLaughlin as assistant director.

The board also unanimously approved a new Memorandum of Understanding with the city that will provide $100,000 in funding for one year to cover a majority of the two salaries and will give RCDA a broader economic development focus throughout the city.

Board President Linda Mariani signed the documents during Thursday’s meeting as officials expressed enthusiasm for the new partnership.

Board attorney Karl-Erik Sternlof said the agreement “gets us out of a four-year desert.”

Board members talked of launching a public campaign to raise awareness that RCDA “is open for business,” and discussed finding a new and much more visible office space — the agency now has small quarters on the fourth floor of a State Street building.

McLaughlin did report one minor setback Thursday, saying the citizens committee that reviews applications for the city’s federal Community Development Block Grant rejected the agency’s request for $30,000 to supplement the salaries of the new staff.

McLaughlin said he revised the application to reduce the request to $15,000 and will appeal to the City Council — which must approve CDBG funding allocations — for the new request.

Mayor Michael Passero, who attended Thursday’s RCDA meeting, said he is not concerned about the CDBG committee’s decision.

“This is not a setback,” Passero said. “This whole plan does not rest on CDBG funding. … We’re off and running with the dollars we have.”

Davis will earn $80,000 per year, and McLaughlin $30,000.

The two new colleagues said they expect to work well together, with McLaughlin as the enthusiastic cheerleader and Davis with the quieter day-to-day “work the plan” approach.

Davis won’t start officially in his new position until March 7 but will begin working on RCDA projects immediately.

He will be paid a consultant’s fee of about $1,500 for work prior to his official start date.

He also will remain as Norwich planning director until his retirement date of April 4, using vacation time for any daytime hours spent away from that position on New London business.

That business begins Friday, tackling the persistent parking problems at the giant Electric Boat complex on Pequot Avenue.

Sternlof said the first meeting at 10 a.m. Friday will be with the international parking development and management company Laz Parking, which runs the parking at Bradley International Airport and also runs many parking facilities in New Haven.

Sternlof said there is no firm proposal or even a specific location identified for a parking facility in the Fort Trumbull area, but he said the company has been interested in New London for the past two years.

The concept would be for a “mixed use parking garage” Sternlof said, with retail or office businesses along the outer walls to conceal an unattractive parking garage.

Later on Friday, Davis will participate in a meeting with officials from EB and state Department of Economic and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Tim Sullivan and city officials to discuss the parking issues at the facility.

Another meeting is planned for next week with developer Eric Hamburg of Industrial Renaissance, who has expressed interest in two parcels west of the Amtrak line on Howard Street for a mixed commercial and residential development.

The parcels abut property the developer already owns, Sternlof said.

Sternlof said talks are preliminary and no formal negotiations have taken place.

If any future formal proposals are derived, they would be presented to both the City Council and DECD.

c.bessette@theday.com

Twitter: @Bessettetheday