Update: Executive Summary of Economic Development Survey

 Note from Mike Lassel:

This executive summary reflects the key points and ideas expressed in the recent Economic Development Committee (EDC)  survey. The full report will be on the town’s web page in the next couple of days. It is very interesting reading and you will find many common threads and ideas expressed by the respondents. We hope to have a date soon for a town forum to discuss this survey and also bring into the discussion the ideas expressed by Stacy Mitchell and the concept of local business support.

–Michael W. Lassel, Chair, EDC

Below is the report in its entirety or you can download a printer friendly pdf of the report.

To: The Citizens of South Berwick

Re: Summary of opinion leader interviews

From: Frank O’Hara

Between August and October, 2008, eight South Berwick volunteers interviewed 27 different opinion leaders in the community about their views about South Berwick’s future and economic development. This memo provides a summary of their comments. These comments will be used by the Economic Development Committee, in consultation with the public, to develop economic goals.

Thanks to Mimi Demers, Sue Pullar, Katherine Wolfe, Clifford Cleary, Mike Lassel, John Rudolph, Douglas Leteillier, and Brad Christo, for conducting the interviews and entering the data into the survey system.

Note on opinion leader surveying: Opinion leader surveying is a method for gaining the pulse of a community. It provides greater breadth and depth of community views than traditional survey techniques, and when it is conducted by citizen volunteers as was done in this case, at a much lower cost. This is not a “poll” – the reader can’t add up all the people who support one action or another, and generalize that figure to the town as a whole. But the reader can be confident that the responses cover most of the opinions held by residents within the community.

Here are the questions that were asked, and the major themes from the responders.

Question 1: What are the major challenges you see facing South Berwick in the next 5 years?

Keeping property taxes affordable was the major concern among respondents. To this end, many supported business development, or actions to control costs in town and school government.

Traffic congestion, especially in downtown, was the second challenge mentioned.

Other challenges mentioned included maintaining rural character, good education quality, and achieving energy independence.

Question 2: In broad terms, what do you think the town government in South Berwick should be doing to address these issues?

Many respondents mentioned a need for planning – for economic development, for energy independence, for transportation, for land use and zoning.

In preparing such plans, respondents emphasized the need for a sound decision-making process – for listening to everyone, for developing a consensus, for transparency in decision-making, for seeing the whole picture when deciding on individual items, for civic leadership.

A wide range of specific actions were suggested: traffic changes (road bypass or one-way loops downtown), municipal cost-cutting, regionalizing or consolidating services, researching what other towns are doing, setting up a tax increment financing district to attract business, eliminating parking regulations in the downtown, getting grants, educating the citizenry and elected officials.

Question 3: Is economic development – defined as helping existing businesses to grow and expand, and attracting new businesses to move into the community – an important priority for the community? Why or why not?

The overwhelming answer here is yes. But the motivations for this are varied:

• reduce residential property taxes;
• create new jobs and economic opportunities for residents;
• make the community desirable for people to come live, shop, and work; and
• as part of a holistic effort to create a sustainable community — energy-efficient, environmentally and economically sound.

A few of the respondents were skeptical, again for a variety of reasons:

• Because there’s no way for the Town to compete with New Hampshire;
• Because it would endanger the small-town quality of life;
• Because the Town’s strength is its residential neighborhoods, and this should be what the future community is about.

Question 4: Here are some reasons for economic development. Which matter the most to you?
The answers to this question followed the lines described above. Easing the tax burden is the first reason, but creating an innovative and interesting community is also on the agenda.

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Question 5: If you were to pick two or three ideal economic development projects for South Berwick, what might they be?

The list of ideas proposed was endless, among them being:

• Support downtown businesses
• Expand business in the Norton Street area
• Bring back “the point” – lower Main Street
• Professional/service/hi-tech
• Software, biotech
• Light manufacturing
• A new library downtown
• A town common in downtown
• An alternative energy industry that would design, manufacture, install solar, wind and geothermal energy systems
• Elderly, over 55 housing
• Small steel buildings with light industrial units or storage
• Medical
• Industrial park with contract zoning
• Extend sewer and water down 236
• Parking downtown
• Regional tourism marketing
• Foster more cultural and recreation events

Question 6: What should be the Town’s role in economic development? Should it participate financially in regional efforts to promote economic development? (why or why not?):

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Question 7: What is the easiest way for the Committee to communicate with you and other citizens going forward (i.e., mailing, website, post at transfer station, email, etc.)

Besides the items listed above, respondents also mentioned the 236 diner blog, the local Quamphegan newspaper, and continued face-to-face meeting discussions.

Question 8: Do you have any final comments or suggestions for the Economic Development Committee?

Most of the responses to this question had to do with communicating, listening, creating a consensus, keeping a sense of community, maintaining public support, proceeding carefully, and following through. But there were also several specific ideas, such as:

• Renovate downtown with underground utilities, refurbished store fronts, more retail;
• Lower water and sewer costs
• Pursue downtown and industrial zone improvements at the same time, using public/private partnerships