Activities Summer 2008
Southwestern Community
Services, Inc. (SCS) continues to involve itself in
Economic Development (ED) within the region.
SCS ‘ Economic Development activities range
from directly working with other regional partners to
create and implement CEDS (Community Economic
Development) Plans in both Cheshire and Sullivan
Counties to work closely with local leaders and
statewide funders to effectively utilize Community
Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding.
SCS also maintains other ED programs and projects
intended to contribute and augment the economies of
southwestern New Hampshire
.
SCS has been a very
successful Community Development partner for close to
forty years. Within
the past decade, SCS’ Board of Directors has concluded
that, among other things, there exists a strong need to
provide a continual supply of “living wage” jobs for
its clients. SCS
has been involved with the local federal Welfare to Work
effort and has had a Workforce Development program for
many years. SCS
maintains close working relationships with other
organizations and funders dedicated to the support of ED
activities in the Monadnock region.
These include the Monadnock Economic Development
Corporation (MEDC) se; Monadnock Business Ventures (MBV),
based in the Peterborough/Jaffrey region as well as any
and all ED efforts that emanate from
Sullivan
County
.
SCS
has worked with the following funders/programs relative
to its ED efforts,
-
New
Hampshire
Community Development
Investment Program
-
New
Hampshire
Community Development Block
Grant Program
-
U.S
Department of Labor
-
U.S
Department of HUD
-
U.S
Department of Health and Human Services
-
U.S
Department of the Interior
-
Private
Equity Providers
Eagle
Block
SCS most important
Community Economic Development projects to date is the
Eagle Block on Main Street in downtown
Newport. SCS helped to complete this development in
2006.
The Eagle Block represents one of the “most
significant saves” in recent NH Historical
Preservation circles.
In addition to providing the area with a premier
restaurant, the Eagle Block will house the Tool
& Technology
Resource
Center,
a program created
by the Economic Corporation of Newport (ECON) to assist
with the recruitment and training of workers for the
precision machining industry in Sullivan
County, Grafton
County
and
eastern
Vermont
To date, the Eagle Block project has resulted in
the following accomplishments:
-
Full
Restoration/Rehabilitation of the Eagle Block, a
rare and historical structure situated at a critical
position on Main
Street
.
-
Over
fifty newly created or retained jobs at Timken
Corporation with other employers taking
full advantage of the TTRC,
-
Dozens
of full and part-time employment opportunities at
the Eagle Neighborhood Tavern and Grille.
-
Increased
“foot traffic” within the downtown
Newport
area, increasing opportunities for downtown
merchants.
-
Effective
administration of six primary and distinct funding
sources resulting in a local investment of over 2
million dollars.
-
An
excellent example of an effective regionally-driven
Economic Development project that utilizes Smart-Growth
techniques.
-
A
rare and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
positively affect a community for a generation or
more.
“Most
currently, SCS has worked with the Town of
Charlestown and the
Charlestown Economic Development Association (CEDA)
to procure a $500,000 CDBG Economic Development
grant. This grant will provide funds to replace the
main water line to the original CEDA Park as well as
provide a road, water, sewer and three-phase power
into CEDA’s new Gristmill Park. The formal
announcement from the Community Development Finance
Authority’s CDBG Advisory Board came in the Spring
of 2008. Work should commence in late 2008.
Twenty-five new jobs will be created by businesses
occupying both parks.”
SCS is committed to working in our
local community to provide leadership, insights as well
as a positive and planned approach to the region's
Economic Development opportunities, programs and
projects. We will continue to seek out and support
intelligent sustainable ED activities in both Cheshire
and Sullivan Counties. We pledge to work closely
with local leaders to help investigate and act upon
opportunities to strengthen the region's economy through
job creation activities, real estate development and
grass-roots Community Development.
Please
feel free to contact Keith Thibault, SCS Development
Director regarding Economic Development opportunities in
your community. He
can be reached at:
69Z
Island Street
–
P.O.
Box
603
Keene
,
New
Hampshire
03431
(603)
352-7512 Extension 4208
kthibault@scshelps.org
