City Of Concord Eliminates Economic Development Director Position

CONCORD, NH — An economic development director position created nearly four years ago to jumpstart the capital city's anemic and tepid economic growth will be eliminated at the end of the fiscal year — with other city employees working on business retention and tax base expansion will be reorganized, too.

The Concord City Council unanimously approved of the plan on Monday which also included the creation of a fellowship position, part-time, at first, to assist team members with some of the more administrative tasks involved with some of the city's future projects.

In the reorg plan, City Manager Tom Aspell said the purpose of the reorganization and elimination of the director position was that most of the city's economic development had been "project-centered," and not focused on bringing new jobs, companies, or sectors directly to the city. He listed several project-based developments during the past 40 years — from the conversion of the old police station on Warren Street into Tio Juan's (which led to the Margarita's chain of restaurants) and Bicentennial Square park to parking garages, hotels, and office spaces, and other buildings, that have led to economic interests mostly moving within and around the city but sometimes also into the city, too. Also, in recent years, housing has been a focus — including the tannery project in Penacook, the redevelopment of the Vegas Block apartments, that had turned into a firetrap flophouse and drug den, right in the heart of the downtown, into market-rate apartments, as well as apartment buildings that have been renovated around Pleasant and State streets, and other buildings converted into condominiums or office space.

Did you like this story? Invite a friend to subscribe to Patch!

Aspell, Carlos Baia, who is the deputy city manager-development, Matt Walsh, the director of Redevelopment, Downtown Services, and Special Projects, Suzanne Pegg, the economic development director, and Stefanie Breton, the city's public information officer, all work on economic development, business promotion, and other marketing tasks. Under the plan, Aspell proposed eliminating the economic development director position and creating an "economic development project manager fellowship," for the next few months, that will work with Walsh "with particular emphasis on administration of economic development and parking-related capital projects."

Before the hiring of Pegg, Aspell said, there was a business development coordinator that was full-time but reduced to part-time in 2008. The position was eliminated a year later.

"It is hoped that the individual hired for this position will grow with the organization over time, similar to how Mr. Walsh’s career has evolved during his 19-year tenure with the city," Aspell said. "The position will also begin to create a certain level of redundancy for Mr. Walsh’s critical position, which is increasingly essential to ensure continuity of operations and to allow for even greater success."

The cost of the fellowship is about $20,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year. Next year, the cost is unknown, but salaries for similar positions in the New England area are in the $60,000 range, plus benefits, Aspell said.

Aspell commended Pegg for her "dedication and effort which have been strong" throughout the last four years but the director's position failed to "provide sufficient returns in terms of tax base generation to warrant the position's funding" — a concern raised at the time it was created in 2017 as well as in later years. Some promotional efforts that were not successful in expanding the tax base included an irregular Talk Concord podcast and the creation of a new website, InvestConcordNH.com, which pitched the city as "New England's Newest Hub of Innovation." Aspell, in proposing the change, added, "I am recommending this course of action as I do not believe this position requires a full-time staff person."

Pegg will stay on in the position through the end of the fiscal year in late June. When asked about the decision, she said the council report was "pretty concise" in its reasoning.

"All I can add is that in my time working for the city, I have come to love this city and what it has to offer and that I, as a professional, totally respect the decision of leadership," she said.

Pegg earned $111,414.40 in 2019 along with $11,988.06 in city health points, which is how the city awards health care costs.

A number of city business leaders chose not to return requests for comment or speak on the record about the decision with Patch before post time.

Got a news tip? Send it to tony.schinella@patch.com. View videos on Tony Schinella's YouTube.com channel or Rumble.com channel.