Barkhamsted invests in tourism, promotes economic development

BARKHAMSTED — During a time when Winsted is looking to cut many of the services it provides to residents in an effort to pass the fifth proposed budget, last week residents in Barkhamsted approved a $10,000 appropriation to fund the newly established economic development line item. Now with $20,000 in the account to hire economic development consultants, Barkhamsted is on the verge of economic independence. The town is looking to develop the Route 44 corridor and revitalize Riverton as a tourist destination.

During the course of an hour-long meeting, residents had the opportunity to ask specific questions about the motivation behind developing Barkhamsted. In the end, nearly all the voters in attendance agreed on funding the line item.

Consultants Mark Waterhouse, Leslie Cosgrove and Mike Casale of Garnet Consulting intend to learn what the residents of Barkhamsted feel is best for the town and then teach officials how to bring about and monitor the changes.

"Initially, there is going to be a fact-finding portion of the project where we will do a lot of research and talk to a lot of people," Waterhouse said. "The talking to people part is important in small rural communities, where there is a fear about runaway growth and development, and so we want to make sure we find out what is on people’s minds and what forms of development they will be most comfortable with."

After the research is collected, Waterhouse said they will outline an action agenda for the town.

"We will formulate recommendations in the form of an action agenda, which specifically will say, this is what you should do, these are the resources you need to do it and these are the people, agencies, organizations who should be responsible for each item."

Waterhouse also said Barkhamsted will be equipped with performance measures to help town leaders know whether or not the town is making progess.

After final contracts are signed, Waterhouse estimates that the research process will take about four months to complete and that by April residents should begin to hear recommendations.

In the future, he said that Route 44 may become a booming business district and Riverton a popular place to visit.

"On Route 44, where there is nothing, there will have to be some development construction in order to host new businesses, but in Riverton you are talking about a limited area to host construction and getting more feet on the streets for events, rather than real estate construction," said Waterhouse. "The fairgrounds is a relatively underutilized resource and you have the capacity to host more than the Riverton Fair and the few other events that take place on the Riverton Fair Grounds. The businesses that are there, the General Store and the Riverton Inn and a few others, have lost customers they were getting when Hitchcock Chair was open and in order to help them there has to be a replacement of visitor traffic."

Waterhouse stressed that visitor traffic should not be confused with car congestion, but rather seen as more patrons to the area.

A Barkhamsted resident himself along with his significant other, Leslie Cosgrove, Waterhouse said he is excited to get to work, having conducted similar projects all across the country.

Waterhouse said that getting residents involved with the project is key to the town’s success.

"One of the things we believe in firmly is the more fingerprints you have on the process, the more ownership you have on the project. We want people to feel like they own this when they get done with it," said Waterhouse.