- 5/29/2010
Newport Daily News
Town touts potential for business growth
By Marcia Pobzeznik
Daily News correspondent
The Tiverton Economic Development Commission wants to get the word out that there are business opportunities in town and there are people willing to help businesses locate here.
That message will be illustrated during an “Open for Business” meeting Thursday hosted by the commission. The meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at a newly relocated business, Family Ties Restaurant at 221 Main Road. Keith Stokes, executive director of the state Economic Development Corp., will be the keynote speaker.
“Our job, as I see it, is to bring economic development to Tiverton,” said Leonard Schmidt, president of the town’s EDC.
“The reason I’m on the commission is I don’t like to pay taxes, and if we don’t do something about it,” Schmidt said of helping businesses locate to town and be successful here, “we’ll continue to pay taxes” that increase every year.
While new businesses have opened in town in the past few months and couple of years, there are many empty storefronts in all parts of town. The town also has an industrial park that has 170 acres of developable land. A natural gas-fired electric generating plant is the only tenant.
‘The opportunity abounds,” Schmidt said. “We want people to know we’re alive and well and Tiverton is, too.”
The EDC rolled out a new Web site last week that was funded by a grant from the Newport County Chamber of Commerce. Pictures of the town’s waterfront, farm fields, schools, landmarks and some private homes are displayed, along with a partial list of the businesses in town. That database will be expanded.
The commission’s mission is to increase the town’s tax base and employment opportunities, Schmidt said.
“Tiverton is a great place to do business and it’s a great place to live,” said Schmidt, who is retired from middle management for Polaroid Corp. The other members of the EDC are business people with varying backgrounds, including financing and entrepreneurship.
Thursday’s meeting, which is open to the public, will be an opportunity to meet business people in the community, hear about how the town hopes to help businesses locate here and grow, and provide input. Attendees will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire.
The survey also is available online at the commission’s Web site, www.TivertonEDC.org.
Send correspondent Marcia Pobzeznik e-mail at Pobzeznik@NewportRI.com.
