Economic Growth Through Arts and Entertainment

Details: Created on Saturday, 23 March 2019 01:43; Written by Will Barrett

BEAT Lyndonville-The abundance of outdoor activities and scenic views in the NEK creates regular traffic through Lyndon Center. Entertaining those travelling through has been increasingly difficult in recent years as technological advancements have made the usage of high speed internet a neccesity to any business big or small.

The initiative to boost economic growth in Lyndon Center came in 2017, after a visit from The Vermont Council on Rural Development. The visit was apart of their community visit process, spanning over three months. Public forums were held, bringing the community together to adress their assets, the challenges they face, and their ideas for action.

Through these public forums the community created four sub committees, staffed with like-minded individuals who are serious about bettering their communities. The committees formed dealt with the economic development of Lyndonville, the pursuit of a recreation department, and the revitilization of the downtown area. Of the four committees, two have stood out and made serious progress in their efforts.

The Economic Development Committee with Evan Carlson as chairperson, has taken advantage of the retail vacancies in town by testing business ideas. Last May the group hosted a two night event to promote the idea of a new bar and eatery in town and saw great success.

The committee recently applied for and received a grant from the US Department of Agriculture as well. The application concluded that it would be spending the money from the grant in three seperate areas; technichal assistance for village center businesses, public WIFI to support tourism, and the funding of a rural broadband initiative.

The money spent for technichal assistance in the village center was distributed so that these businesses could create websites, marketing strategies, and advertising. Public and open WIFI for Lyndon Center is almost complete, its range would stretch from the Do North Co-Working Space in front of Cumberland Farms to Bandstand Park. The largest chunk of the grant is most important to Lyndonville and the surrounding comunities. The rural broadband initiative is an attempt to serve the large population of residents in the NEK who are without high speed internet.

"If we want to attract new young families to this area," says Carlson, "We need to provide the basic infrastructure to allow them to be able to be here and be successful."

Not only do bussiness rely on high speed internet but people working remotely from home are at a disadvantage as well.