Recession takes its toll

Is the recession over? And if it is statistically, is there evidence in the Northwest Corner? Not for those who, over the past two years, have lost their jobs, or watched the value of their homes decrease to the point where what they now owe on their mortgages exceeds their homes’ resale value. Nor does it feel over to anyone who takes a close look at the area’s town centers and counts the number of vacant commercial properties.

   Has the increase in the unemployment rate in this region mirrored that of the nation during the recession? It is not as high as the nationwide average, but it is significant. According to unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor  Statistics, unemployment rates for the month of December (not seasonally adjusted) for all Litchfield County in December 2006 was 3.6 percent, while in December 2009 it was 8.3 percent. In Salisbury, in December 2006 the rate was 2.9 percent, and in December 2009 it was 6.9 percent. In North Canaan, the December 2006 number was 3.1 percent, in December 2009 it was 8.0 percent.

Better than the county average, but still a very meaningful and rapid increase that needs to be turned around in order for residents of this area to have a good quality of life. It will take real entrepreneurial spirit to think of new ways to make use of the vacant store fronts and commercial properties that will create new jobs and reverse the downward trend.

   While some of those spaces are now, thankfully, beginning to fill up again, too many remain empty as the summer season approaches. This is the time when this region should be beginning to buzz with activity in preparation for an influx of seasonal visitors, who travel here to take advantage of outdoor recreation such as hiking and fishing, or cultural activities such as TriArts, Music Mountain and all the varied events throughout the Tri-state region, or racing events such as those at Lime Rock Park. There remain, however, core spaces in the downtowns and Main Streets in northwest Connecticut that diminish the town centers’ pull to visitors and local residents alike.

   How can the town centers in the Northwest Corner once again become bustling destinations, with a full range of small businesses?  At the Tri-State Chamber (tristatechamber.com) Festival of Trades, Arts and Crafts on March 28 in Falls Village, there surely was an energy and mutual support among the businesses and services represented there. There was also a steady stream of potential customers, people from all over the Tri-state area who form a strong local market for goods and services that can still be served. And, the Northwest Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative (nwctplanning.org), which according to its mission statement was created to meet land use planning and management challenges in the communities of northwest Connecticut, is working on collecting data in order to help define the best ways businesses can reverse the slide they’ve experienced during the economic downturn. (See story by Patrick L. Sullivan, front page.) This group has used grant money to hire an economic development firm, AKRF (akrf.com), to conduct focus groups in the region which will happen April 19 and 20, gathering information from invited town officials, bankers and business owners, among others.

   If this information can help point to specific action which should be taken to revitalize the community centers of the eight towns covered by the Collaborative (Cornwall, Falls Village, Goshen, Kent, Norfolk, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon), there could be hope for a positive trend taking hold in these deserving and beautiful towns.

Then it will begin to feel as if the recession is truly ending.