WILLSBORO ESSEX ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
REPORT TO
WILLSBORO DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Executive Summary
The Willsboro Development Corporation (WDC) formed an ad hoc committee to study conditions and to make recommendations to spur economic development and job creation in the Towns of Willsboro and Essex. The Willsboro Essex Economic Development Committee (WEEDC) adopted a mission in concert with William McClay, WDC President, and conducted six tightly formatted focus groups with leaders in the major activity sectors in the towns. As a consequence, this Report developed from widespread participation and reflects the thoughts and experiences of our neighbors.
These focus groups discussed the assets that the towns can leverage to achieve economic and job growth and the blocks inhibiting desired growth that the WDC and the towns must address. Shared areas of agreement emerged both within each focus group and among the groups. All agreed that the natural beauty of the setting created the greatest asset of the towns. They also agreed that both intangible issues (attitude) and tangible matters (including infrastructure limitations, demography, parts of the built environment, regulations, and finance) inhibited development.
The WEEDC carefully reviewed the findings and discussed their meaning. It agreed to make four recommendations to WDC beginning with the activities of the WDC itself. The WEEDC concluded that the WDC could play a more proactive role. The WEEDC thinks the WDC should staff itself to assist the towns in achieving growth, to secure funding for itself and related activities, and to have a greater presence. Secondly, the WEEDC urges the WDC to assist actively the work of its Broadband Committee including financial support. Third, the WDC should do all it can to forward the necessary infrastructure improvements. Fourth, the WDC should actively address and encourage other agencies to address actions that enhance the natural beauty of the setting.
Process
In the winter of 2013 the WDC appointed Ms. Teresa Sayward to chair a new ad hoc committee (WEEDC) to report on ideas to further economic development and create jobs in the Towns of Willsboro and Essex. The WDC named H. Nicholas Muller and William Bardeen, two of its directors, to join her. This group met several times to establish a mission, recruit additional committee members, and design a process.
Mission Statement: The WEEDC will produce recommendations to the Willsboro Development Corporation to spur economic development and create employment in the towns of Willsboro and Essex. The report will: 1) identify obstacles to economic development and suggest strategies to remove them; 2) identify opportunities; 3) address the needs of current and potential businesses, organizations and activities and suggest strategies to address those needs; and 4) suggest metrics to measure the goals and progress.
Focus Groups: The committee set a timeline of two months to conduct a series of focus groups, with a completion date of August. Each focus group was scheduled for 60 minutes, with time allotted for a brief introduction and welcome, question and answer section, and a final comment period.
The WEEDC developed the following questions to pose at each focus group. To aid in preparation WEEDC also transmitted the questions to participants prior to their scheduled focus group.
- What should be done to strengthen economic viability and create jobs for Willsboro and Essex?
- What assets exist in Willsboro and Essex that might be leveraged to create jobs and attract business?
- What stands in the way of strengthening economic viability and creating jobs for Willsboro and Essex?
- Is there anything that you could do to strengthen the economic viability of Willsboro and Essex?
- Is there anything else that you would like to share with the task force?
Participants: Two or three WEEDC task force members conducted each focus group, with one (or two) as moderator/facilitator and the other as note-taker. Other members of WEEDC also attended to listen to the participants.
WEEDC identified sectors of our economic community and placed them into the following categories:
- Government/ Education/ Healthcare/ Professionals
- Manufacturing/Distribution
- Retail/ Service
- Contractors
- Agriculture
- Tourism/ Recreation/ Arts/ Entertainment
- Youth (under 35)
WEEDC developed criteria to create an invitation list of 6 to 8 businesses, organizations or individuals for each category to participate in the focus groups. WEEDC identified engaged, responsible, high growth potential, established, involved, economic contributors as the top qualifications for invitees, while also maintaining a sense of inclusivity of community members. Mid-way through the focus groups it became clear that the youth (under 35) group should have input, and therefore WEEDC created a focus group based on this sector.
Several participants could not attend the focus groups and instead submitted their answers via email.
Outcome: Overall, the focus groups exhibited good participation and enthusiasm. Most focus groups resulted in 6 and 12 participants attending. The Contractor group did not respond to the invitation.
Strengths and Assets that Contribute to Economic Development
When the focus group participants responded to the question; what assets exist in Willsboro and Essex that might be leveraged to create jobs and attract businesses?they developed distinct themes. Each of the focus groups touched on these themes.
Environment/Setting
Repeatedly, participants spoke about the assets of living in the Adirondacks and on or near Lake Champlain. The lake, Long Pond, and the Boquet River provide local opportunities for boating, fishing, and a wide range of other water sports and recreational activities. The 46 mountains with peaks above 4,000™, hills, valleys, streams, and lakes provide further recreational and business opportunity throughout all four seasons. Champlain Area Trails (CATS) has built a local system of trails linking Westport, Essex and Willsboro.
The focus groups also agreed that the natural beauty of the setting distinguished the towns. They thought few places could compete with the natural setting of Lake Champlain with the fields, forest and foothills leading to the mountains on the horizon. The participants also identified downtown Essex and the architectural heritage as a distinctive asset.
Quality of Life
A high quality of life, stemming from the environment and setting, was viewed as a substantial asset. These factors support an often idyllic rural life (and to some an attractive suburb to Plattsburgh and Burlington) with caring neighbors, low crime, quiet, and minimal traffic.
Agriculture
With a critical mass of working family farms in Willsboro and Essex, as well as a burgeoning industry of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) enterprises in the towns and nearby, the area has increasingly become known for agriculture. The advent of the CSA movement has brought with it a large number of young, innovative, idealistic, and committed agriculturists, many with young families. They participate in local activities and support local organizations, such as the Whallonsburg Grange that has become a cultural and educational center.
Transportation
As with many of the identified assets, the focus groups agreed that transportation in Essex and Willsboro presented strengths as well as obstacles. The transportation options they discussed included: the year-round ferry service between Essex and Charlotte, Vermont (and from there a 30-minute drive to the Burlington International Airport, University Hospital & Medical Center, the University of Vermont, cultural attractions, and downtown shopping); Amtrak daily rail service from Westport to destinations from New York City to Montreal; and the Northway (I-87), accessible from Willsboro and Essex in 10 to 20 minutes, providing another north-south artery for moving freight, residents, and visitors.
Education/Schools
Awarded Bronze status by U.S. News & World Report and recognized as a School of Distinction by College for Every Student for the last five years, Willsboro Central School serves about 320 students with an 8:1 student: teacher ratio. The Lakeside School at Black Kettle Farm offers an additional educational experience combining the Waldorf early educational philosophy with biodynamic farming for children age one through third grade.
College for Every Student (CFES), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping low income students get to and through college, has located its headquarters in Essex.
It works in 24 states and Ireland with 20,000 students and began a rural initiative that includes Willsboro Central School, with which it has partnered for ten years. CFES brings a steady stream of workshops and meetings to Essex, has a state-of-the art meeting space available to the community, and has 10 full-time employees in its Essex office.
Healthcare
Healthcare is often viewed as a challenge in rural communities. Smith House in Willsboro, a unit of Elizabethtown Community Hospital, will by the fall operate in Fletcher Allen Partners as a unit in the University of Vermont Healthcare Network. It has a physician available five full days per week. The towns have two physical therapy providers, a dentist and a general practitioner (Dr. Josh Schwartzberg). Willsboro-Essex has a well-trained emergency medical service. Two acupuncturists in Essex are part of a growing number of alternative medicine providers.
Further Observations
The participants also mentioned the large community of seasonal residents and second homeowners who bring with them a variety of experiences and resources. They add to the quality of life, contribute to local organizations, and require services. A wide variety of restaurants in the towns operate in the summer season, and others (Turtle Island Cafe, the Essex Inn, the Sportsmen’s Diner, Johnny’s and Zeke’s Pub) offer dining options year-round.
The groups noted the existence of the Industrial Park in Willsboro offers an opportunity and asset to the town.
A range of governmental services at the state and county level can support the efforts of Willsboro and Essex at many levels and with grant and funding opportunities. The towns need to take advantage of these assets.
Blocks to Economic Development
In the early meetings of the WEEDC, all the focus groups agreed that the absence of full broadband coverage inhibited many necessary activities in the two towns, including their economic development. In response, the WDC established a working committee to address the issue. In addition to the lack of access to broadband, the focus group members and the groups as a whole expressed consensus on a number of issues they thought frustrated economic development.
Attitude
Each focus group explored attitude, expressing it in a variety of ways. They identified splits within both Willsboro and Essex between permanent and seasonal residents (Get the folks off of the Point) and between natives and newer residents. One participant observed that it seemed like the towns had two social groups. They noted the poor cooperation and often poor relations between the two towns and the split (sometimes antipathy) between the politicians, businesses and communities. The participants also expressed some guarded optimism that recently elected political leadership might improve the relations of the two towns. They pointed to the lack of, and need for, shared services. One group suggested the exploration of a merger, another suggested shared services without merger, and one said combine the communities. They thought that Essex and Willsboro each need to differentiate their identities and be more friendly. They also detected a slight anti-rural bias. Though generally an endemic human condition, they thought resistance to change and risk was particularly pronounced. Too many people like it the way it is, particularly in Essex, and do not embrace change or progress. Others thought the towns must become open to change.
Demography
The issue of the aging and slowly decreasing population (often financially challenged) reinforced the attitudinal issues and created obstacles to embracing change and to economic development. One participant noted that only 17% of Willsboro families have children and Essex has fewer. The towns lack a skilled workforce, especially with technical capacity. This creates a chicken-and-egg syndrome of difficulty attracting businesses without a pool of potential employees and difficulty retaining and attracting the young without a base of employment. The recent and robust strength of community-supported agriculture, especially in Essex, has helped to mitigate this issue.
Youth
The focus groups pointed to some structural gaps they thought hindered retention of young people and creating the jobs for them to help spur economic development. The towns lack youth resources such as a year-round social center. Local successful individuals could serve as mentors. Learning trades and more aggressive use of programs like those provided by BOCES would help. The communities have not embraced including young people in meetings, committees and boards. One member suggested, Get everyone at the table “ bring a young person.
Schools
One of the group sessions held that the Willsboro Central School (WCS), with its outstanding facility, was a strength that could assist in drawing families with children to the area, especially if promoted as a good educational choice.Other sessions regarded WCS differently. They panned the myopia of guidance counseling that did not look far beyond local options. They thought that the success of the Waldorf-based Lakeside School in Essex, now expanding to the third grade, was proof of parents’dissatisfaction with the traditional education offered at WCS, and thought the fact that some Essex parents choose Westport schools or Vermont independent schools over WCS confirmed that judgment. The school calendar, largely dictated at the state level, truncates the tourism season and pulls away school age employees who are learning a skill or service as well as developing their resumes.
Built Environment
The focus groups repeatedly pointed to the vacant (and soon to become vacant) structures and storefronts on the crumbling downtownalong Main Street in Willsboro. The two towns lack essential services including a car wash, a laundromat, and readily available day care. They noted the poor property maintenance in Willsboro, especially unsightly along Rte. 22, and many cited lax code enforcement as a contributing factor.
Infrastructure
In addition to the issue of incomplete/spotty broadband coverage, all of the respondent groups blamed infrastructure weakness for holding back economic development. In Willsboro the sewer system does not extend to the Industrial Park, making it an unattractive (if not impossible) place to locate industry. The Industrial Park also needs a building to induce industry, which may not happen without sewer expansion. The water systems in both Willsboro and Essex need modernizing. The availability of natural gas could assist development and generally reduce industrial and residential energy costs. The limited UPS and FedEx schedules (only delivering in the late morning and afternoon) often add an additional day for most business uses, making area businesses less competitive. The towns offer no transportation options for transients, particularly to and from the marinas for shopping and dining.
The absence of affordable local accommodations for tourists and business travelers arose as a persistent theme. To find lodging with television and WiFi connection, people found Plattsburgh the nearest option. The towns need year-round and affordable lodging for those conducting business locally and to serve tourism for all types. Generally this discussion led directly to the need for affordable and decent residential stock.
The ferry to Vermont evoked some comment. Several groups noted that shortened winter operating hours prevent commuting to Chittenden County with its vibrant economy and demand for young professionals. Expanded hours to 6:00 am and 7:00 pm in the winter could help Willsboro and Essex residents seek employment in Vermont. Some noted the general absence of signage directing ferry patrons to businesses and opportunities in Essex and Willsboro.
Regulations
While calling for stricter code enforcement to improve property maintenance (and recognizing the situation within the Blue Line of the Adirondack Park and with APA had advantages) the focus groups also thought regulation made economic development unnecessarily expensive and time consuming. Groups noted that the following factors slowed, and often stopped growth: strict zoning regulation of signage, permitting impediments, over-regulation of zoning, and the paperwork and regulations that impact start-up businesses. Participants thought these factors made development more expensive. They often articulated that APA created hurdles.
Lake Access
With the huge asset of Lake Champlain, as well as the Boquet River, public access remains inadequate for visitors and some residents, rendering the area™s largest asset underutilized. Willsboro lacks a bike path connecting the Point with the school and businesses. It also lacks a trail opening the Boquet and the beach for recreation. The Willsboro boat ramp does not provide trash receptacles or pump-out facilities. Essex provides little public lake access, except at Beggs Park where the ban on swimming is honored more in the breach.
Financing
Several focus groups pointed to what they saw as the scarcity of funding and investment for youth and business start-ups. The local bank, inhibited by regulations and examiners, cannot take extensive risk, the communities demonstrate little taste for risk and do not have much venture capital. The residents of the towns need to try to spend locally, but too often head to the big box stores in Plattsburgh.
Recommendations and Metrics
Based on its findings at the focus groups and its own discussions, the WEEDC offers four broad recommendations to the Willsboro Development Corporation (WDC) which it believes should become more visible and engaged in the communities of Willsboro and Essex.
Recommendation 1
The WDC should hire a part-time employee to become its constant presence, its face, to:
- Obtain grant funding to pay for the position and underwrite activities of the WDC and the projects in Willsboro and Essex that it supports.
- Develop and maintain a close working relationship with all local, county, state, and federal agencies to promote (and help fund) business and industry developments as well as to increase tourism in Willsboro and Essex.
- Schedule and manage fund raising events to build the financial reserves necessary to promote a robust economy, including after hours business socials.
- Sponsor how toworkshops with the local bank and other agencies to assist businesses with funding applications and permits.
- Consider the need to revise the bylaws, if necessary, to meet the expanded agenda.
- Refer to itself as the Willsboro Development Corporation serving the communities of Willsboro and Essex.
Recommendation 2
All focus groups considered full broadband coverage as essential to economic development and creating employment.
- WDC should provide seed money to the Broadband Committee established for this purpose and help it achieve grant funding.
Recommendation 3
WDC should work to assist the Towns of Willsboro and Essex to assure adequate infrastructure (beyond broadband).
- Promote the towns’ sewer, water, roads, and site development to accommodate current and new or expanding business and industry.
- Work to take and raze the old Grand Union building to become a desirable site for business or place to encourage tourism related business.
- Assist in efforts to expand local lodging.
Recommendation 4
Every focus group saw the natural beauty of the Towns as the major asset, and WDC should work to enhance this asset.
- Promote roadside cleanup
- Hold clean updays to improve, tidy up, and make the constructed environment more attractive. Explore HAPEC and HUD programs to upgrade the depressed homes that line the village streets.
- Improve the public access to Lake Champlain through trails, RV park and camping facilities and explore the Navigation Law to create a harbor and Harbor Master in Willsboro.
- Encourage completion of the CATS-sponsored trails from Westport through Essex to Willsboro, and find an entity to create a trail along the Boquet River.
WDC must evaluate the return on its investment of time and resources through the metrics of the funds it has raised, the jobs created and maintained, the progress on infrastructure development, and the varieties and effectiveness of promotional activities. The WDC Board of Directors should meet more frequently, perhaps on a regular schedule, and the progress achieved in implementing the WEEDC recommendations should become a regular part of the agenda.
The Opportunity
The WEEDC applauds the WDC for expanding its focus from providing loans to unbankable enterprises to the economic and resultant social health of Willsboro and Essex. The members of the WEEDC appreciate the opportunity to work with their neighbors to assay the opportunities and inhibiting factors to economic growth and to make recommendations for development and employment. The towns and their residents have much to do to realize the clear potential for a more vibrant economy.
Willsboro Essex Economic Development Committee Members
Teresa Sayward, Chair
William Bardeen
Rick Dalton
Emily G. Phillips
Nicholas Muller III
Lane Sayward
Patricia W. Schwennker