Economic Development Director Thanks Residents For Support

As Oxford’s Economic Development Director, I want to take a moment to thank the residents that in the snow storm on Jan. 18 to support our economic development efforts in Oxford. I apologize for the tardiness of this thank you; I have been curtailing my work effort for the last three weeks while recovering from hip replacement surgery.     

Reapproving the sale of Lot 10 in the Woodruff Hill Industrial Park allows the town to maximize its participation in the new hangar project being developed on the airport. When completed, 300 new jobs will be created and new floor space will be available to attract new businesses to Oxford. 

Despite the fact that a huge surplus of competitively priced fill is now available in the area, Claris and Keystone agreed to honor the 2008 agreement with the town in recognition of the town’s unwavering support for this project and the successful legislative effort spearheaded by our local representatives that facilitated approvals of the environmental studies completed and funded by the developers. 

For reasons only understood by some project opponents, this proposal was opposed in 2008 and again last month when the new contract with Claris had to be extended due to bureaucratic conflicts between state agencies. Those state related issues appear to be resolved and the project is moving forward.   

Again!  I want to thank each and every one of you for coming out and supporting this proposal at town meeting – you filled the meeting room on one of the worst nights of the year. Shortly, we will add $350,000 to the town’s bank account and begin marketing our new industrial floor space. 

Herman Schuler

Economic Development Director

Town of Oxford, Connecticut