Wilton will be partnering with the University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Extension Program to identify priority projects and create an action plan to give the town’s economic development a boost.
Starting this fall, and continuing into 2017, the Wilton Economic Development Team will be working with the extension to conduct business surveys to identify immediate needs in town and find ways to address them.
Economic development has become a focus for Wilton since last year, after the town lost several businesses on an already-depleted Main Street, including Roam Cafe and Antonia’s Greek Kitchen and Pizzeria, and The Color Shop and More, as well as the closing of another of Wilton’s restaurants, Gary’s Harvest Restaurant.
While there have been signs of new growth with the opening of shops like Wilton Attic Finds, the Local Share cafe and the Second Glances thrift shop, it has become one of the town’s goals to make sure that the businesses remaining on Main Street have what it takes to remain viable.
“Wilton has some really good bones,” said Andre Garron of the UNH Cooperative Extension, who will be working with the town on this project. “They do have a downtown, which not every community does, and they have a dedicated group of people that want to move this project forward.”
In September, the UNH Cooperative will be running a series of classes that will train interview teams on how to go out and conduct the business surveys, which will happen this fall. From there, the Economic Development Team and UNH will create an action plan to address the areas of need.
“If we hear from businesses that they’re having trouble finding skilled workers, maybe one of the action items is to work with the local school or community college to create an adult education program,” said Garron, as an example of some of the items that have been put into place in some of the other communities that he’s done this process in before, which includes Amherst, Milford and Wolfboro.
“This initiative is a great first step for the Wilton Economic Development Team,” said Dan Donovan, the Wilton Select Board representative on the team. “There is nothing more essential to economic growth than helping our existing businesses thrive and expand in Wilton, and we hope this cooperation with the University of New Hampshire will yield great, long-term results for our town.”
The Wilton Economic Development Team is recruiting volunteers to conduct the business surveys during September. Two-hour training sessions will be held for interviewers the week of Sept. 12, with more specific dates and times to be announced. Any Wilton resident interested in assisting should send an email to Economic Development Team Chair Jenn Beck at jenniferscottbeck@gmail.com or call Beck at 654-5526.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.