Economic Development Commission Co-Chair and Halls Rd. Improvement Committee member Howard Margules discussed ideas for the future of Halls Rd. with visitors at the recent Old Lyme Midsummer Festival. Photo by Suzanne Thompson.
OLD LYME — Old Lyme Economic Development Commission (EDC) Co-Chair Justin Fuller describes the objective of the commission as being on the one hand, “to ensure the economic condition of our town remains strong.” while, at the same time, “… doing our small part to help maintain the charm and character of Old Lyme, and protect the town’s natural and cultural resources.”
Howard Margules, EDC Co-Chair and a member of the Halls Rd. Improvement Committee, adds that the EDC believes that the town should be pro-active with economic development by attracting new investments and supporting local businesses. He says, “The commission intends to do this by promoting a “smart growth” strategy,” which he explains is focused on the three areas of 1) retaining existing businesses, 2) attracting new investments (especially in available commercial properties that are presently abandoned and/or neglected), and 3) promoting entrepreneurship — since local business owners who live in Old Lyme have a vested interest in the community.
The EDC has identified three activities that will help the town begin the development of a formal economic development strategy, as follows:
- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) workshop to obtain input from a variety of stakeholders and determine overarching goals to help guide the prioritization of further collaborative economic development efforts;
- Local business survey to learn about their challenges and explore how an economic development strategy could best support their long-term success;
- Free informational workshop to help answer questions about economic and community development.
The EDC is working with a nonprofit economic development firm, the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) to assist the EDC and the town in implementing these identified goals.
One tool the EDC is using in their efforts is a survey that CERC has developed, which is now being distributed to all Old Lyme residents and/or people who own or operate a business in the town. The survey includes, but is not limited to, input regarding the Halls Road neighborhood.
The objective of the survey, the second of the three activities listed above, is to encourage local businesses and residents to give their thoughts and feedback on the town’s current and future economic condition. For example, the EDC would like to understand what attracted both residents and business to Old Lyme in the first place, and what they consider are the most important issues facing the town.
In respect of business owners, the EDC would also like to hear how the town can better support them both now and in the future.
The Old Lyme EDC has asked us here at LymeLine.com to help spread the word about the survey, and we are pleased to do that.
We therefore urge all our readers who either live, work or own a business in Old Lyme to take a few minutes to complete this important online survey by scanning the QR code to the left or visiting www.research.net/r/OldLymeCT
The purpose of the business survey is to 1) gain perspective on how the business community perceives the economic condition of Old Lyme, 2) identify perceived and real challenges that local businesses face, 3) identify companies that are “at-risk” of leaving Old Lyme, and, 4) obtain feedback about how the town can better support businesses to improve business retention and support their long-term success.
The purpose of the resident survey is to obtain feedback about the perceived current economic condition of Old Lyme, and obtain information that will help guide a future economic development strategy for the town.
Asked for his reaction to the increased attention being directed to economic development in Old Lyme, Halls Road Improvement Committee Chairman BJ Bernblum responded, ” “The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen is taking seriously the economic health of the town. A few years ago it formed the Halls Road Improvements Committee and this year it revitalized the Economic Development Commission.” He continued, “Under the dynamic leadership of co-chairs Howard Margules and Justin Fuller, the EDC is working with the Connecticut Economic Resource Center to analyze the current state of Old Lyme’s economy and to recommend ways to ensure a sound future.”
Bernblum added, “CERC’s first undertaking is a town-wide survey of businesses and residents, critical to getting an accurate understanding of how our taxpayers feel about the status quo and the issues that need to be addressed,” concluding, “I strongly encourage everyone to complete this survey.”
The EDC collaborated with CERC to identify the specific survey questions and CERC will collect the survey results, carry out the analysis, and prepare a summary report.
The survey results, combined with other ongoing initiatives, will help define the town’s economic development strategy. All responses will be kept confidential, and the results will be presented in a final report prepared by the EDC.
