#Middlebury #EIDC #CERC
By TERRENCE S. MCAULIFFE
The Middlebury Economic and Industrial Development Commission (EIDC) will deliver a report on results and recommendations from the business survey it conducted earlier this year to the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance and Planning and Zoning Commission. The survey was mailed to 300 businesses out of a list of 635 provided by Town Assessor Chris Kelsey.
Owners were asked to rate the importance of two dozen factors in doing business in Middlebury, ranging from the rural nature and appearance of the town to tax rates, safety, utilities and services, and the school system. Then they were asked open-ended questions intended to tell the commission what needed to be done to promote a better business climate here and what difficulties they encountered in starting their business and keeping it profitable. A total of 53 surveys were returned, for a response yield of about 18 percent, and more than a dozen owners were asked to elaborate more fully on what they wrote.
In coordination with the report, members of those boards, as well as selected business owners, will participate in an economic development training session Oct. 10 led by consultants from the Connecticut Economic Resource Center. The training is geared to those within a municipality who impact economic development and is designed to get everyone working collaboratively on ideas for business improvement.
The next regular EIDC meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Conference Room.
