Editor’s note: This commentary is by Newport Mayor Paul L. Monette. Born and raised in Newport, he has served on the Newport City Council since 1997 and became mayor in 2009. He is technology coordinator for Newport City Elementary School.
[I] ask the question “Why Not Newport?” to Tim Loucks (May 25 VTDigger commentary “ANC Bio – a groundbreaking with no politicians?”) So what if the politicians could not attend the event? They were doing the job they were elected to do — representing us in Montpelier and Washington, D.C. Mr. Loucks did note there was one politician there, the mayor of Newport. Yes, I was there representing the citizens of Newport which I am elected to do and I am glad our elected officials were doing their jobs. What I find amazing is all the naysayers who do not live in Newport or the Northeast Kingdom telling us what is good for us and what is not.
Yes, we do have running water, electricity, high speed Internet/fiber and a hardworking dedicated workforce.
For the past several years Newport has worked hard to change the anti-business climate to one which welcomes business. We have led the way in zoning reform (Form Based Code) to make it much easier for development and redevelopment to occur in our city. Other communities are now using Newport as an example when considering a rewrite of their zoning. We have a large group of volunteers who have donated many hundreds of hours to improving our community for all of our residents and attracting new business. They want our region to thrive like other areas of the state. The city council has welcomed this development with open arms since we know it certainly will help grow our grand list, thus helping to reduce our high taxes.
Now we come to AnC Bio’s groundbreaking and the naysayers are coming out of the woodwork. As a longtime member of the Newport City Council and mayor since 2009, I have come to know Bill Stenger and he certainly would not do anything to harm Newport or the NEK. He truly cares about his community and the future of the region. He certainly wants to see the area succeed and to give our youth an opportunity. I resent Mr. Loucks’ statement that there is no logical reason to build AnC Bio or any other high-tech industry in Newport. Why can’t we have development in our city like other areas of the state? We have the infrastructure in place to support this development and future development. Yes, we do have running water, electricity, high speed Internet/fiber and a hardworking dedicated workforce. I know we do not have the workforce required to fill the research jobs, but wouldn’t it be nice if people actually started moving into Newport and Vermont to reverse our declining population? Instead of sending our youth away, we create opportunities for them to stay here, and I know there are some who want to return and this will give them that opportunity.
Another question I have is where were all the naysayers to the expansion of the landfill in Coventry? They were nowhere to be found. Where were all the naysayers outside of the Northeast Kingdom when it came to the wind turbines being placed on our ridgetops? They were nowhere to be found. It seems that some believe all we are good for is the state’s trash (no disrespect to the operators of the landfill) and wind turbines. I strongly believe they feel we should not have any positive development in our region of the state.
In today’s economy we cannot rely solely on tourism or the traditional manufacturing jobs. We have to have a diverse economy and when people are working they have the resources to support the local retail stores. When people and businesses pay taxes, it helps to provide the funding for the services which some feel we are not providing enough. It was stated at the groundbreaking by Dr. Ike Lee that AnC Bio could be located anywhere with the technology of today. If you draw a circle around Newport we are ideally situated to different universities and colleges from UVM to Dartmouth and locations north of the border. Newport is also a perfect choice since we have the infrastructure in place, the airport expansion taking place, and a workforce that is capable, with training, of building the medical devices planned for AnC Bio.
I know this development will occur and will be successful. Just maybe Newport and the NEK will begin to grow again and we will begin to see a reduction in our high unemployment and poverty.
