NEWS ARCHIVE

New NCDC Strategic Plan

In 2007 the NCDC Board of Directors established several key strategies to chart a new direction for the organization. Those strategies included-

• Increasing organizational capacity
• Community economic improvement focus
• Strengthening relationships

Those goals have been substantially met or undertaken by the board and staff by mid-2009. The Board held a special workshop to discuss a new set of strategies developed over the last 16 weeks which are designed to assist the City of Norwich in improving the economic condition of the community. The planning period is for 3 years and identifies 4 key issues with 8 goals and 33 strategies. The plan is developed in 3 sections-

1. External Environment- the setting we are working within
2. Current and Future Conditions- what we have and what we want
3. Goals and Strategies- how we are going to achieve what we want

The Strategic Plan will remain in draft form until NCDC can reach a broad spectrum of the community to communicate the plan and seek input and partnerships on key activities.  Download a PDF of the Strategic Plan

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DECD brings Connecticut Strategic Plan to Norwich

On Monday, January 25 at 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development will conduct an informational forum on the State Economic Strategic Plan at the Otis Library Community Room. 

Directions to the library can be found at: otislibrarynorwich.org. A PDF version of the State’s plan can be found on the DECD website at: http://www.ct.gov/ecd/lib/ecd/connecticut_esp-final.pdf. Please join us at Otis Library as NCDC and the other economic development stakeholder in Norwich receive a first hand review of the plan.

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NCDC Annual Meeting

NCDC had its annual meeting January 28th, where officers were elected and the board refreshed.  In 2010, there were some adjustments to the officers when Kent Baker took over the helm as President while David DiBattista took a much needed step back to Vice President after many years of often daily interaction in the office.  Our thanks go out to both for their contributions to the community and the organization.  John Bilda took over as Secretary following the unfortunate passing of our friend Ron Aliano.  Ron was not only an officer of NCDC but had spent 40 years building a business empire, investing in Norwich and helping other investors find the value of creating new ventures and opportunities in our community.  John is also the Assistant Treasurer and spends time creating value within NPU who is also a significant NCDC Funding sponsor.  Brian McNamara continues as Treasurer and was also elected Assistant Secretary to create some backup assuring NCDC’s ability to meet timely contractual requirements. Check out our full Board of Directors

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DECD brings Connecticut Strategic Plan to Norwich

On Monday, January 25 at 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development will conduct an informational forum on the State Economic Strategic Plan at the Otis Library Community Room. 

Directions to the library can be found at: otislibrarynorwich.org. A PDF version of the State’s plan can be found on the DECD website at: http://www.ct.gov/ecd/lib/ecd/connecticut_esp-final.pdf. Please join us at Otis Library as NCDC and the other economic development stakeholder in Norwich receive a first hand review of the plan.

City Council Takes on Economic Development Challenge

The new Mayor and City Council are tackling economic development issues head on. In a series of Saturday and Wednesday mornings meetings, the leadership of Norwich has been assessing the economic condition of the city and working to put in place long term solutions. The Mayor has asked the Council to help define the problem and task the economic development service providers to recommend a set of directions for the council to adopt at a future City Council meeting. The deliverables are expected to follow along the lines of-

• a long term plan for change
• implementable strategies in the near term
• measureable goals along the way
• accountability measures
• results for the citizens of Norwich

The agendas are posted at City Hall as well as online at: norwichct.org. Dialogue is open and interesting. Stay tuned for more...

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Economic Development Baseline Data

Over the last few months the Economic Development Stakeholders in Norwich have been busy at work defining the baseline condition of the City in real, measurable terms.  Through a series of professionally developed surveys, the Economic Development Organizations have completed a new SWOT analysis and has begun the process of identifying key economic indicators that the community can use to guide programs and projects and track near term progress toward long term results. 

Download a PDF of the Economic Data Presentation

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Norwich Goes To Washington

A delegation representing the City of Norwich recently traveled to Washington DC to provide updates on projects and initiatives in the City. Mayor Ben Lathrop, NPU General Manager John Bilda and NCDC Executive Director Bob Mills visited the Connecticut delegations of Congressman Joe Courtney, Senators Joe Lieberman and Chris Dodd in October. The group was on a mission to maintain close contact to Federal leadership and provide updates on Norwich’s major projects involving Federal funding.

Mayor Lathrop opened the comments with the Congressman and the Senators and their staffs with sincere “thank you” for “keeping Norwich in their hearts, minds and actions”. Mayor Lathrop also indicated the citizens of Norwich are keenly aware of the challenges in Washington and related stories of the difficulties small urban centers like Norwich are facing in these times as well. John Blida presented status reports on large scale infrastructure projects aimed at improving community owned utilities while Bob Mills provided updates on the Transportation Center and the decision making process regarding redeveloping the Norwich Hospital site. The group was well received and invited for a return trip in the spring to provide insights on any new economic development initiatives sought from Norwich.

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New Leadership Across The State

Norwich was one of many communities in the state that had mayoral and first selectmen elections on November 3rd.   Citizens have elected a new slate of Norwich leaders headed by Mayor Elect Peter Nystrom and including returning City Councilmen Bill Nash and Peter Desaulniers.  New to the council are Deb Hinchey,Tucker Braddock, and Laurie Glenney Popovich.  Jackie Caron is on a return term after taking a couple of years off as an Alderperson.  Welcome to them all and to the challengers that drew 24% voter turnout in the local only elections.  Turnout was a bit light in Norwich compared to the rest of the state which was nearly 37% of voters motivated to cast their votes.  The new council faces many daunting challenges, especially as relating to extreme economic pressures on local municipalities, and could use the creative support of the community in formulating positive outcomes for all.

Our thanks and recognition to the services of the outgoing Council- Mayor Ben Lathrop and Aldermen Mark Bettencourt, Bob Zarnetske, and Jonathan Jacaruso. Thank you for your service to the community.

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Former Norwich State Hospital Site Decision Time Nears

On July 6, 2009, the City of Norwich formed a committee to perform due diligence on the opportunity to purchase the 61 acre portion of former Norwich State Hospital site from the state of Connecticut.  The committee has been conducting the work to provide the City Council with fact and figures to inform them of the costs and benefits of advancing the redevelopment of the site under city control.  That committee will be providing the final report on Monday, November 16 of this year and the City Council must notify the State of their intent to exercise its option to purchase on or before January 24th of 2010.   In the meantime, the committee has been looking hard at defining the risks of taking on the liability of the environmental concerns, the amount of usable land, and the market conditions of reusing the site.  Much has been achieved and these issues have been demystified a bit through consultations with professionals in those industries.  While the insights and information are not forming everything there is to know about the site and its redevelopment, there should be enough known for the Council to make an informed decision.   Minutes of the committee meetings can be found at - Norwichct.org

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Connecticut Has A New Set of Strategies

State of Connecticut releases Economic Development strategic plan.  In 2007 Governor Rell signed into law an act a requirement that the state issue a strategic plan for growing the economy and preserving Connecticut’s natural treasures.  The plan is over 580 pages in total but includes a very readable 25 page executive summary and culminates in 4 policy areas with 66 initiatives –

1. Talent- (10)
2. Technology- (12)
3. Competitiveness (19)
4. Responsible Growth (25)

While it is the most voluminous strategic plan on the shelf and not for reader that may be a bit faint of heart, it has a fair amount of information and ideas that may prove helpful to focus efforts around the state.  Projects that need support from the State of Connecticut would be well advised to address the strategies and initiatives the plan outlines.

The full document is available in PDF format at Ct.gov