The Western Connecticut Economic Development Alliance (WCEDA) has scheduled four focus group sessions for next Tuesday and Thursday designed to help the newly formed group establish a road map for encouraging economic growth in the Greater Danbury-New Milford region.
The focus groups will be split into four segments, each discussing an important aspect of future development:
- Retail and Downtown Services — June 18, 8:30 a.m.
- Life Sciences — June 18, 10:30 a.m.
- Advanced Manufacturing — June 18, 1:30 p.m.
- Affordable Housing — June 20, 1:30 p.m.
All four sessions are being held at the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, 39 West St., Danbury. Persons interested in participating in one of the focus groups can contact Leslie Cosgrove at lcosgrove@snet.net.
“Key to the process of creating a meaningful [economic strategy] is the public outreach process,” WCEDA Chairman Hal Kurfehs said, namely to discover the “issues impacting economic development in the region, what individual communities see as their current situation and potential and how municipalities in the region can better work together.”
The results of the sessions, along with input from consultants Garnet Consulting Service, Inc. and Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) will be used to complete a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the Housatonic Valley region.
“This CEDS will guide our region’s economic development efforts over the next five years,” according to Bethel Economic Development Commission Chairman Michael Boyle, who is also leading the WCEDA Coordinating Committee. “Input from the region’s business community, residents and other interested stakeholders is an essential part of creating the plan.”
The Housatonic Valley towns included in the economic development strategy are Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield and Sherman. The WCEDA is funded through the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the Housatonic Valley Council of Elected Officials (HVCEO) and the participating towns.
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