Ledyard Economic Development Newsletter Spring-1




Small Business Energy Advantage A program, administered by CL&P to provide cost-effective, turnkey energy savings services for small commercial and industrial customers. Page 2	GIS Information New GIS mapping and photogrammetry can put a lot of information at your “finger tips”. Page 2	Realtors Have commercial or industrial property for sale or for lease? Looking to expand or find a location? We would like to know and help. Page 2	Agriculture Farmer’s Market - Wednesdays from June 2 to September 1. Page 2	Networking With all this technology, you would think we would talk more. While it maybe the first time you’ve had a problem or issue, there is a good chance that someone has not only had the same problem; but, solved it. Page 2	Contact Tell us what you think! What you would like us to do. What would help your business Page 2

Ledyard One of the prime goals of the Ledyard Economic Development Commission is to increase our Town’s commercial and industrial tax base. Over the years, there have been many efforts to accomplish this; some successful; others, not so much. Ledyard is a suburban community. In 2003, an estimated 5.6% of the Town’s grand list came from commercial/industrial enterprises. That number has real implications for all of us. We rely on residential property taxes to fund the bulk of Town services and that reliance leads to difficult choices for Town officials and residents, even in good economic times. A Focus on Existing Business Ledyard is a great place. We value our open space, our history, our cultural events, and our schools. The volunteers that work for our community make Ledyard a special place in a many ways. The local business community, also, makes Ledyard special and we need to value it. There is no better		way to grow our commercial tax base than to support and nurture the businesses already here. In the economic development “world”, it is called business retention; but, it just makes sense. This newsletter is part of an outreach program to local businesses. We hope to provide relevant information, establish clearer lines of communication and provide support and help.		What You Can Expect This newsletter “kicks off” our renewed efforts. You can look for a new print communication twice a year and internet based communication quarterly. When we have a more complet email list, we will try to communicate more frequently. . We have begun to establish a web presence at “ledyarddevelopment.com”. Right now, it primarily, contains information related to the Town's planning efforts. However, in the future, we want to be able to list local businesses, available property data, promote business activities and more. We, also, are thinking about “social media” and how it can help. Before too much longer, we will be asking you to participate in a survey. We hope to get as much “feedback” and information as possible. We will be starting a visitation program soon and want to meet with businesses on an ongoing basis. There is plenty to do and I hope this is a good start. Let us know what you think. Steve Eichelberg, Chair Ledyard Economic Development Commission