Mayor teams up with EDC to promote town

WINSTED — If proponents of economic development know anything about progress, it’s the fact that nothing happens overnight, and if you want to get anything done, you’re going to have to use teamwork.It is with that concept in mind that Mayor Maryann Welcome has taken the initiative in her newest term by remaining an active member of the town’s Economic Development Commission (EDC) and urging fellow board members to work together to overcome obstacles and get things done.In an interview at the Green Room Café this week, Welcome was joined by EDC Chairman Bill Pratt for a discussion about positive steps the Laurel City can take to improve its image, attract investors and broaden the tax base. One the the EDC’s first major accomplishments was a business conference at The Gilbert School in February, which attracted 30 different merchants to learn about increasing their visibility on the Internet.“We would like to do a follow-up conference soon, so people can show what they’ve been doing with what they learned,” Welcome said. “They loved the first one, so the next one will have to be soon.” Welcome spearheaded the first conference, which was called “Re-Inventing Your Business,” and said she hopes the next event can be held before the end of April.Pratt, a Simsbury transplant and advertising professional, praised Welcome for her leadership in getting the first business conference up and running, and said EDC members are following suit.“The business conference was 100 percent Maryann’s thinking,” he said. “For someone who has the duties of a mayor, a teacher and a mother, she has more than a full plate. When she was elected mayor, I was afraid we’d lose her, but she stayed on. She’s just that good.”Welcome said the decision to stay on the EDC while also serving as mayor is not a new concept. Mayors in other municipalities often work on committees that suit their particular interests. But for Winsted, the appearance of the mayor in various different venues to discuss and act on current issues is a breath of fresh air. Participation by the mayor at board meetings also improves lines of communication and helps expedite projects.“I think people in town are sick of the bickering,” Welcome reasoned. “We want to promote the good things. People are becoming aware that Winsted is a business-friendly town.”New businessesWelcome noted that recent business openings have included a new women’s clothing store, Yajaira’s (see story, Page A3) at 452 Main St., and Redline Power Sports, a new motor sports store in the old Canton Cycles building at 70 South Main St.“People are becoming aware that Winsted wants to be a business-friendly town,” she said.By being out front on issues related to economic development, Welcome said, she hopes both investors and state officials will take notice of the work being done to improve the town.“The squeaky wheel gets the oil, that’s for sure,” she said. “There’s a new governor, a new administration and there’s a big push for small business. We need to start thinking outside the box.”Welcome said she would love to see local entrepreneurs team up to open businesses in some of downtown Winsted’s empty storefronts, sharing the rent and dividing the space.“You don’t need a lot of room for a lot of modern businesses that could go downtown,” she said. “I’d like to see a bookstore or an Internet café.”Meetings plannedPratt said local merchants have also slowly begun to get together and network at local merchants meetings, run by EDC member Dick Labich. Labich, who also is a member of Friends of Main Street and the Highland Lake Watershed Association, has been holding monthly meetings that provide helpful information to business owners. The next meeting, scheduled for Thursday, April 12, at 8 a.m., will include a presentation by Susan Chen of the state Department of Economic and Community Development regarding Connecticut’s Small Business Express program. The location has yet to be announced.Pratt noted that the next EDC meeting is Tuesday, March 20, 7 p.m., at Town Hall, and that business owners and residents are encouraged to attend. Updates will appear on the commission’s newly refurbished website, www.winstededc.org.“We’re up and running, and we’re very proud of the new website,” he said.While being a mother of five children and a full-time teacher at The Gilbert School might seem like more than enough work for one person, Welcome said she is eager to continue promoting the town where she has raised her family and developed close relationships with hundreds of students, coworkers and friends. “I know when we were younger and I had just four kids, we didn’t have a lot of money, but you can find things with your family that don’t cost you anything,” she said. “There is a lot of stuff to do in this town for free. We would go up to the lake, the ballpark, the playground. It was wonderful.”Welcome said part of the challenge for Winsted and Winchester residents is to get people to welcome new generations of families into the town.“We are a friendly town, and sometimes people who have been in town for generations just don’t see it any more,” she said. “It’s the kind of thing that you have to promote, and you have to convince the old-timers here that it’s OK to bring young people in.”