The community and economic development committee voted unanimously to use part of the Zamias impact fund, an annual levy paid by the owners of the Diamond Run Mall, to support the initiative. The measure still needs approval from the full board of aldermen, which meets on Monday.
A joint committee of the Rutland Economic Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce will lead a multiyear campaign that they hope will rebrand Rutland as a destination for families and young professionals. The initial round of funding, which includes an additional $100,000 raised from local businesses, will be used to hire a marketing firm to help the committee develop its pitch.
“I think it will be our responsibility to clearly articulate what we want this region to look like 10 years from now,” said Lyle Jepson, REDC’s Executive Director. If the campaign succeeds, Jepson said, Rutland will be seen as a highly desirable place for young professionals and recent college graduates.
The city hopes to leverage recreational assets, Jepson says, as one way to attract newcomers. The committee has already formed a partnership with the Killington resort to better highlight opportunities for skiing and hiking.
Despite the common refrain that there are no jobs in Rutland, Jepson says employers constantly tell him they’re looking to fill their ranks.
Rutland Regional Medical Center, for example, is currently advertising for about 100 positions that vary from part-time and per diem work to full-time clinical and administrative posts. According to Brian Kerns, vice president of human resources at Rutland Regional, the hospital has 1,668 employees and a turnover rate of 12 percent, which he says is below the national average.
General Electric expects to have 30 to 50 openings a year for the next decade to replace its aging workforce, according to GE Aviation spokesperson Nate Beach. Earlier this year, REDC created its own online listing to highlight livable wage jobs in the area.
Steve Costello, a member of the committee and vice president of customer care at Green Mountain Power, says the notion that there are few if any jobs in Rutland is hampering economic growth. Part of the marketing push will be directed at local high school students and college graduates to inform them of the opportunities in their backyard.
“The reality is there are hundreds of really good jobs,” said Costello.
In addition to touting the region’s economic opportunities the campaign will work on promoting tourism through collaboration with Killington area business groups and reaching out to young professionals and families seeking a simpler way of life.
Mary Cohen, executive director of the region’s Chamber of Commerce, said they’re hoping to attract people who already have a “drop of Vermont in them,” for example people who are familiar with the area, who have skied here, or went to school at a state college or university.
Though there seems to be widespread support within the business community and in neighboring towns — the chamber and REDC are meeting with representatives throughout the county — not everyone is convinced of the campaign’s utility. At an earlier board meeting, Alderman Gary Donahue questioned the marketing campaign’s focus on young people and students at the expense of taxpayers and local residents.
Jepson says people have a right to be skeptical and that it’s up to the committee to demonstrate how the money will be used and to assess the impact of the marketing campaign. “It’s going to have to be more than Facebook hits,” Jepson said.
It’s not the first time Rutland has sought a makeover. About eight years ago the Rutland Redevelopment Authority hired a South Carolina consulting firm to develop a new logo and slogan for the city — “Connected Naturally.” It never really caught on and according to Costello failed to reach beyond the few groups promoting it locally. “It didn’t get into marketing outside of Rutland County in any meaningful way,” Costello said.
That campaign came on the heels of the 2008 financial meltdown and was followed by several challenging years for the city of Rutland as it grappled with the opiate crisis and drug-related crime. Fairly or not, the city came to be seen as ground zero of Vermont’s heroin epidemic. In February 2014 the New York Times ran a front-page story on the city’s struggles.
In the last few years though the outlook has brightened. Drug-related crime is down and the city has become a model, largely through its community policing initiative, Project Vision, for other municipalities dealing with similar problems.
Mayor Chris Louras and community groups have been invited to meet with elected officials in Atlanta and San Antonio. Louras recently participated in a panel on local responses to the opioid epidemic at the International City/County Management Association’s annual conference in Kansas City.
According to Costello, both the Chamber of Commerce and REDC have shifted their focus in the last year. Instead of looking to bring large employers or manufacturers to the region they’re investing in bringing families and young professionals to fill existing jobs.
Jepson says the marketing plan is a long-term strategy. Change won’t happen overnight. “If people expect an immediate demographic shift, that’s not going to happen,” Jepson said.
Indeed, according to figures from the Vermont Department of Labor, even under the best-case scenario Rutland’s population will continue to decline by 5 percent over the next 15 years.
Michael Moser, a researcher at UVM’s Center for Rural Studies, says the committee will have to figure out how to match the available jobs in the region with potentially interested young professionals in and out of state.
“Where can you pull people from?” Moser asked. “I think everyone’s trying to figure it out.”
