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Community Corner

Town to Hire an Economic Development Coordinator

Part-time employee would be charged with bringing new businesses to town.

East Haven officials are preparing to hire a part-time economic development coordinator to work on bringing new businesses to town.

The Town Council included $20,000 in the 2011-12 town budget to hire the new town employee, which is the reason it will be a part-time position and initially include no fringe benefits.

Councilman Vincent Camera, chairman of the Town Council’s Economic Development Subcommittee, told the Economic Development Commission (EDC) Monday he envisioned hiring a retired businessperson to fill the position.

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Director of Town Affairs Paul Hongo said the position would be advertised Sunday, June 5, in the New Haven Register, and he asked the EDC to hold a special meeting in June to review the top applicants.

"I really want someone with experience who can hit the ground running," he said.

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At the commission’s monthly meeting Monday night, EDC Chairman Robert Limoncelli recalled how an out-of-town businessman called him recently to inquire about an East Haven business that was closing. Limoncelili and Hongo were able to facilitate the man’s purchase of the business, which remained open under new management.

For the new coordinator position, the EDC chairman and Hongo envision an official whose responsibilities would be to match up the owners of vacant commercial property in East Haven with people looking for a place to locate their businesses.

Hongo said the town needs someone who can work exclusively on economic development and is not interrupted by other duties.

The director of town affairs said he first began talking with members of the EDC about the position in 2008, and noted that Republican candidate John Finkle brought it up in the 2009 election campaign.

Camera pushed it during this spring’s town budget discussions and at his urging the Town Council added the money to the budget, said Hongo.

"He’s the one who kicked it over the goal line," he said.

Hongo, who lives in Trumbull, said his hometown has a full-time economic development official who is paid $86,000. But Trumbull also has an industrial park and a shopping mall, so its situation is different, he said.

If the new position works out, the mayor and the Town Council might decide to make it a full-time position next year, Hongo said.

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