Area residents, business community called to economic forum Saturday

WILMINGTON- The Tri-town Economic Development Committee is asking residents, business owners, and second-home owners in Dover, Wilmington, and Whitingham to attend a forum at Deerfield Valley Elementary School on Saturday, November 21, from 9 am to 12 pm.

The forum will include a presentation by Mullins & Associates, and discussion of their recently released economic development report and plan. TEDC member Bob Rusten said the goal is to get feedback from residents on the direction of economic development in the valley. “We want to see if the goals that are identified in the plan make sense to people, and do people believe we need to implement them,” Rusten said. Based on feedback from those who are at the public forum on Saturday, Mullins & Associates will revise the plan and issue a final version sometime in December.

The long-term plan and report is a result of spending approved by Wilmington and Dover last year. Whitingham declined to participate, citing budgetary constraints, but much of the information in the report is applicable to any town in the valley. The plan is available for download at the Wilmington and Dover town Web sites, as well as the Mount Snow Valley Chamber of Commerce Web site.

The report identifies a number of general steps the two towns must take to improve their economic situation. The towns must gain high speed Internet and fiber-optic connectivity to prosper, according to the report. Businesses in the area should capitalize on the “Vermont brand” with Vermont products and names. And the towns should protect, and capitalize on, their cultural, historical, and topographical character.

The report paints a stark picture of the current economic reality for residents of the two towns. In contrast to the towns’ reputation as “rich ski towns,” the numbers suggest valley residents are actually at a significant economic disadvantage in comparison to most Vermont residents, including those in other areas of Windham County.

Unemployment figures for May 2009, for instance, show 14.9% unemployment in Dover and 11.7% in Wilmington. During the same month, the statewide unemployment figure was 6.8%. Broader figures for 2008 show a less shocking, but measurable contrast; while statewide unemployment was at 4.7%, in Dover the figure was 7.9%, and in Wilmington unemployment was at six percent.

But even when valley residents are employed, their compensation lags behind other Vermonters. Wages in Windham County are lower than the state as a whole, but wages in Dover and Wilmington are even lower, according to the report. In 2007, the average annual wage in Vermont was $35,585. In Windham County the average wage was $33,949. With an average annual wage of $25,594, Wilmington was almost $10,000 under the statewide average. During the same period the average annual wage in Dover, at $22,520, was more than $10,000 less than the already lower Windham County average.

Despite the low wages, housing costs are high in the two towns. The median sales price of a year-round home in the area rose from $110,000 in 2000 to $197,000 in 2007.

But the report includes more than just the bad news. An analysis of visitor spending patterns offers insight into possible areas of economic growth. For instance, visitors grouped together as “historians,” people with an interest in Vermont history, tend to spend more per visit than skiers and “relaxers.” The area’s rich history may be an untapped and underdeveloped economic resource. People who visit for athletic pursuits (other than skiing) spend the most money, an average of $573 per visit, and return to the region on a regular basis. People who visit the area for its lakes and streams were the second highest spenders, and Mullins & Associates recommend developing water recreation in the valley.

Tourism isn’t the only industry examined in the report. Mullins & Associates also conducted a study of the spending habits of local residents to determine the types of businesses that were in demand in the valley. According to the report, the valley needs a clothing store, retail merchandise store, and expanded grocery options. According to the report, local residents “walking the aisles of Shaw’s in Wilmington can be heard planning what they will get at Shaw’s and what they will pick up at Hannaford’s on their trips to Brattleboro.”

The thick report (83 pages, including a 38-page appendix) is packed with information, but it offers more than just statistics. The main component is an economic plan with goals and objectives based on an analysis of the data. Top goals in the plan include establishing a state of the art communications infrastructure in the valley; developing businesses so that they can provide a living wage; encouraging industry that utilizes renewable natural resources and local agricultural products; attracting and retaining a younger population; and reducing the cost of doing business in Dover and Wilmington.

Each of the goals includes several objectives and, perhaps most important, a step-by-step guide to achieving each objective. To encourage businesses to provide a living wage, for instance, the plan calls for the economic development group to study information on a liveable wage in Vermont, determine what a liveable wage for Dover and Wilmington is, and look for assistance that’s available for local businesses. The plan identifies several resources that can be tapped in the effort. “It’s incredibly detailed,” says chamber of commerce executive director Laura Sibilia, a TEDC member. “It’s exactly what we asked for; we needed a manual.”

Rusten says the report is “not something that will sit on a shelf.” It offers valley residents a road map for an improved economic future. The question may be, do local residents want to follow the map?

“Is gaining control of our economy and being able to thoughtfully plan and grow our area something that’s a high priority?” asks Sibilia. “It’s something we can do, and we’ve been handed an incredible tool.”

Sibilia says one of the recommendations is for the towns to hire an economic development professional. Although the valley has a tradition of independence and volunteerism, Sibilia says the effort needs a professional at the top. “We already have a number of volunteers with a wealth of experience,” she says. “We need a dedicated professional.”

If the plan is implemented, Rusten says, the results could be not only a better economic future for the area, but a degree of economic independence. “We can actually do this,” he says. “Rather than relying on someone else coming in, we can make this happen.”