Enlarging the Economic Base

The shared, primary goal of the Chamber, local government, and area organizations should be to make the six town study area a great place for current residents to live and work. This goal should be implemented through individual and collective actions that will enhance the communities in the six town study area. Consistent with this primary goal, there are six recommended actions that should be pursued collectively/or and independently. These include the following:

The key effort of the Chamber should be to help existing local businesses to expand.. The Chamber should also be ready to provide information to businesses which wish to relocate to the greater Ossipee area and to be able to refer people who wish to start-up businesses in the area to appropriate programs.

Retirees and seasonal residents support almost one-half of the local area economy. Encouragement of former residents, summer residents, and older people to retire to the area will help the local economy grow.

Manufacturing is slightly more important than vacationing tourists and summer campers as an export sector. Both manufacturing and tourism offer opportunities for economic growth and together will provide a more diversified local economy.

The Chamber needs to make a much greater effort to encourage local residents to shop and use consumer services from business already in the area. Reducing the "leakage" of consumer dollars to businesses in distant cities and towns will have a major impact on local job creation and will create an upward spiral for the local economy.

The Chamber should consider creating a new name for this six town area which reflects the local area's image, its natural heritage and its human history/culture.

The Chamber should conduct a business visitation program once every two or three years.

Growth in Tourism and Retail Trade

There are thirteen conclusions and recommendations that focus on growth in tourism and retail trade. These include the following:

Tourism is more seasonal and camping oriented than state-wide. There are virtually no business travel and conferences within the study area. Encourage multi-season use of tourist facilities and business meetings and conferences.

Tourism parties are almost exclusively family groups (both with and without children). They use the Ossipee area as an overnight "hub" and for rest and relaxation and water-based recreation. They take day trips to other areas for shopping, attractions, events and cultural activities.

Efforts should be made to keep these tourists already in the area to take fewer day trips to other places by providing information on activities already present in the area. At least one new annual festival should be held in the six town area during the fall, winter and spring seasons and at least one new family oriented attraction which reflects the area's identity should be created.

Current visitors to the region should be encouraged to return at other seasons of the year. Local residents should be encouraged to invite friends and relatives to visit the area.

A visitor information center or kiosk should be set up on Route 16 between North Wakefield and the Route 28 intersection in cooperation with NHDOT and the Lakes Region Association.

Increase the number of walking, bicycling and cross country trails in the six town area. Support for existing snowmobile clubs and trails should continue as one of the strongest elements of winter tourism in the area. Existing cross country areas should be enlarged or a new cross country area with 15 to 25 miles of networked trails should be established.

Access to the lakes in the region (both visually and physically) should be improved, especially to Lake Ossipee. More small boat launching facilities are needed, although this could be done at existing resorts.

The current owners of the Mt. Whittier facility are not ready to agree to a future plan of action for that mountain. Until they achieve consensus as to what to do, not much will happen there except for possible logging and mining activities. The Mt. Whittier site fronting Route 25 could become a small, multi-season mountain side recreation area, but probably not a large ski area or tourist attraction.

A new, four-color tourism brochure should focus on what there is to do and see in the area during all four seasons of the year. It should also include specific information on overnight accommodations and major events, but only generic descriptions on restaurants, shopping, attractions and activities. The more detailed information and ads for the latter are better provided through a one-color directory distributed in the immediate area.

The Chamber should encourage local resorts and country inns to establish packaged tours for Europeans.

There should be much stronger ties between retail stores and area manufacturers and crafts people. Opportunities for growth in retailing include furniture, housewares and antiques.

Retail stores should be encouraged in a "village shops" environment. New strip malls and shopping areas should be discouraged, with stronger curb cut controls and landscaping and signage requirements. New stores should be next to (or in) existing shopping areas. Most local and site plan review regulations will need to be modified to encourage this village pattern for commercial growth.

The Native American theme might be expanded and evolve from the importance of Native American place names and legends associated with the area.

Enlarging Manufacturing and Non-Tourist Industries

There are seven conclusions and recommendations that focus on growth in manufacturing and non-tourist industries. These include the following:

Manufacturing can grow in the area, especially wood products, furniture and fabricated metal products. Plastics, publishing, and specialty food products also represent opportunities.

Most of the towns which have zoning ordinances are too restrictive on manufacturers, and modifications should be considered. The ordinances should be clear and should produce predictable results.

Towns should be encouraged by the Chamber to adopt sign regulations for free-standing signs that at a minimum are comparable to NHDOT standards in their zoning ordinances.

The Chamber should keep an up-to-date list of vacant and available commercial and industrial buildings and land. It should invite the Office of Business and Industrial Development to visit once every three months for a tour of these properties.

The Chamber should take the lead to encourage someone to create an incubator style, shared services facility for existing small businesses ready to expand or relocate. Such an incubator should use an existing building, if possible, after conducting a feasibility study.

The Chamber should work with Pine Tree Power and adjacent property owners to create an energy oriented industrial park which would contain: 1) wood using companies that would provide chips and sawdust to Pine Tree Power -- such as milling and furniture companies; and 2) companies that would use heat, steam and electricity from Pine Tree Power -- such as green house agriculture, aquaculture, kiln drying and injection molded plastics products.

In addition to promoting tourism, retail stores and manufacturing as listed above, the Chamber should also encourage the creation, expansion and location of the following types of businesses in the Greater Ossipee area: mail order retail goods, business services, consulting services, health services, retirement communities and centers, computer software and telecommunications services.

Infrastructure Improvements

There are three conclusions and recommendations that focus on infrastructure improvements. These include the following:

The Chamber of Commerce and the towns along the Route 16 corridor are encouraged to actively participate in the Route 16 study. The intersection of Routes 16 and 25 needs some redesign so it is viewed by drivers as less confusing and safer.

The Chamber should actively support the purchase by NHDOT for railroad trackage and right-of- way between Ossipee and Conway from Guilford Transportation. It should support the creation of a truck to rail inter-modal facility in Ossipee.

The Chamber should work with the Mt. Washington Valley Economic Council to improve telecommunications services in Carroll County.

Business Financing and Information Programs

There are ten conclusions and recommendations that focus on business financing, management training, and work force training improvements. These include the following:

The Chamber should help establish the Working Capital Program in the area in cooperation with a local bank. Determine if there are private investors in the area who would also lend or invest money to such a program.

At least one person at the Chamber should keep up to date with the loan programs at the Northern Community Investment Corporation (in St. Johnsbury), the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (in Concord) and the New Hampshire Business Development Corporation (in Manchester).

The Towns and the Chamber are encouraged to find an existing revolving loan fund (such as Wakefield or Conway) to join up with and to seek additional funding from the Office of State Planning for business loans in the greater Ossipee area.

The Chamber should sponsor a bi-weekly visit by a UNH Small Business Development Center (SBDC) circuit rider in the Ossipee area or arrange with UNH to take advantage of the current weekly SBDC visit to North Conway.

The Chamber should encourage area businesses and towns to participate in the Northern Lake Winnipesaukee Business Entrepreneurship program and the "It Takes a Community Program."

The Chamber should have information on hand regarding the Industrial Research Center at UNH, the Vendor Matching Program at the State Office of Business and Industrial Development and the State-run International Trade Resource Center in Newington.

The Chamber should establish a "rapid response" team which can meet with Office of Business and Industrial Development staff and business people who are considering a location or expansion in the six town area in coordination with local government officials.

The Chamber should prepare fact sheets on the area which can be given to businesses considering an expansion or location in the six town area. The fact sheets should include data on: population, labor force, employment by industry, tourism counts and spending, local land use regulations, available properties and sources of financing.

The Chamber should encourage the expansion of the GED adult education program in the Ossipee area. It should also encourage the UNH College for Lifelong Learning, the New Hampshire Technical Institute and Colleges System and private colleges to offer employee training programs and courses in the Ossipee area.

The Chamber should encourage local businesses to make use of the computerized vendor matching program at the New Hampshire Office of Business and Industrial Development as part of its efforts to reduce imports and assist Ossipee area businesses to become local vendors within the area and also to supply businesses in other parts of the state.