Business and community leaders from the Naugatuck Valley corridor held a regional pep rally of sorts Thursday, as they rolled out a new five-year plan outlining goals for jobs, business growth and transportation projects in the area.
The focus was on collaboration between the 18 corridor towns in order to receive federal money for the improvement projects.
“We’ve got to work together to move forward,” said Peter Burns, Jr., who presented part of the draft Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Thursday.
Planning firm DeCarlo & Doll, based in Meriden, was contracted to write the 500-page plan
The draft plan will be available for viewing next week online at www.sheltonedcorp.org.
A Tale of Two Naugatuck Valleys
The plan includes a review of statistics over the past decade for the 18 towns — which include the five lower Naugatuck Valley towns, and others along the river and along the Interstate 84 corridor.
The data shows vastly different situations for many of the Valley towns.
While Shelton and Oxford showed strong growth in business, for example, Derby lost 6.8 percent of its business between 2005 and 2008.
Also between 2000 and 2009, Ansonia saw a population decrease of almost one percent, while Oxford grew in population by almost 28 percent, and Beacon Falls increased its population by almost 9 percent.
Median household income was also a separation point for Valley towns.
In 2009, Oxford’s median household income was $97,000, while Ansonia’s was only $53,600. Seymour, Derby and Ansonia all had median household incomes below the state average.
And while job growth was steady in most of the towns between 2005 and 2008, last year unemployment rates in four of the towns, including Ansonia, topped national unemployment rates.
In 2009, Ansonia’s unemployment rate was at 9.4 percent, according to the draft plan, while Oxford and Shelton were between 6 and 7 percent.
Click here to read an article about more recent unemployment rates in the Valley.
Click on the document to view a slideshow with the charts that illustrate many of these statistics. Article continues after document.
Collaboration
The varied situations of Valley towns is one reason the collaboration for the regional economic development plan is important, Burns said.
“Regionally, it will be helpful for the towns that are not doing as well to be linked to the towns that are doing well,” Burns said.
The strategy plan is developed by a steering committee made up business leaders, town officials and groups such as the Shelton Economic Development Corporation and the Waterbury Development Corporation.
“The spirit of collaboration has been a hallmark of this Valley for so many years,” said Bill Purcell, the president of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, which hosted the meeting Thursday.
Despite some of the challenges outlined in the statistics, Burns said the Naugatuck Valley is ahead of several other communities across the country.
“There are some problems, but this is a strong area,” Burns said.
The Goals
The five-year plan is a working document that is reviewed every year.
The 2010 plan outlines seven main goals:
1. Continue to develop local infrastructure
2. Provide opportunities for job growth, training, etc.
3. Sustain economic expansion while reinforcing regional land use and quality of life.
4. Improve overall transportation and communications systems.
5. Continue the implementation and reclamation of regional brownfields.
6. Support and encourage the designation of the Naugatuck Valley Corridor as a national heritage area under the National Park Service.
7. Encourage growth and participation in the philanthropy efforts in the Naugatuck Valley Corridor, through the private sector, individuals and other stakeholders’ efforts and contributions.
Next Steps
The Waterbury Economic Development Corporation and the Shelton Economic Development Corporation will hold a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. May 25 in Waterbury to present the plan and get more feedback.
The plan is scheduled to be adopted by June 22, and submitted to the federal Economic Development Administration for approval.
