BROOKLYN - Town officials have a question they hope the answer to will help boost economic development and grow the grand list in Brooklyn.
"What do we want the town to be when it grows up?" First Selectman Rick Ives said.
According to Ives, the town's Economic Development Commission will soon be collaborating with the Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments to establish an "identity" intent on sparking "controlled growth" within Brooklyn.
"That means not just more businesses coming to town, but more homes and more foot traffic," he said. "But this is going to be very difficult and it may take a while. It’s not as easy as just coming up with an idea and running with it."
Ives said he requested the EDC draft a plan on how to get the ball rolling, which will include an inventory of what the town currently has to offer and where the town should end up.
In February, the town is slated to begin a branding exercise with NECCOG that would help determine the town’s marketability as well as its niche offerings. The council offered a similar service to Thompson in 2017. The exercise is included in the town's membership fees.
According to John Filchak, executive director of NECCOG, the plan is to identify and establish a brand, and then build a marketing strategy around that brand. The process will take about six months, he said.
Ives said he would like to see the town capitalize on its many sprawling stone walls.
"We could be the stone wall capital of Northeastern Connecticut. People could come and visit them like they come to see our turning leaves," he said. "We are completely missing an identity. We have a lot of good things but we don’t sing about them enough."
Ives said it is crucial that officials keep Brooklyn’s diverse landscape in mind while conducting this audit. The town is home to a stretch of commercial development offering up chain restaurants and stores but it also offers expansive farmland throughout the fringes of its primary, well-traversed routes. The quaintness of the farmland is what has become synonymous with the Quiet Corner identity, Ives said.
Though Thompson was the first town to work with NECCOG on branding, Filchak said more towns are coming forward and expressing interest. As a result, NECCOG has to decide whether it is better to have a single brand for the entire region with individualized strategies, or 16 brands for 16 towns, he said.
"It's not just coming up with a slogan. The Quiet Corner, for example, is a slogan," Filchak said. "It's about identifying every part of the town, whether positive or negative, and what people think of when they think of the town."
With eyes on development, Rob Simons, chairman of the town’s EDC, said the group has been pushing for an additional coordinator position that would offer professional consultancy to established and potential businesses. Money had been allocated in the budget for a coordinator he said, but the current fiscal crisis has halted any search or hiring process.
"There needs to be something more than just the volunteers on commissions if we are going to make a serious impact," Simons said. "This needs to be someone with professional experience who can connect with potential business owners who are thinking about coming to town but may not know how to go through our bureaucratic process."
Significant development will rely on communication and cooperation between boards, Simons said, and may also require revisiting some zoning rules.
"This stuff does take time. And adding a position would cost money. But it’s like an investment. The money the town will make through new development could far exceed the salary of a new coordinator," Simons said.