IMPACT: Regional Issues Series

Description

The economic climate of New Hampshire and our Souhegan Valley region is changing and creating challenges to continued growth. A number of factors are impacting these changes, such as demographics, our business climate and the rural/suburban nature of area and state. In this series, we will examine five of the factors affecting or prohibiting the potential economic development of the Souhegan Valley and New Hampshire as a whole. 

From September to January, the Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce and Nashua Regional Planning Commission will host a speakers series, bringing a panel together to discuss these factors. Our purpose is to educate, spark discussion and broaden understanding of the issues to our citizens.

Series Topics:

• Regional Transportation - September 8 at the Milford Town Hall Auditorium. Would a regional transportation system make sense for the Souhegan Valley? Is it necessary and would the impact be positive? We will discuss the potential for extending bus service from Nashua, how a potential rail project would impact our region, and what would be the return on investment to our towns. Special Guest Speaker is NH Dept. of Transportation Commissioner Victoria Sheehan.
• Workforce Development & Population Health - October 13 at Souhegan High School, Amherst. Local businesses are facing a crisis in the lack of a plentiful, skilled workforce. Although the unemployment rate is low, businesses cannot find the workers they need to grow and meet demand. We will examine the reasons for this crisis and discuss how our education system, demographics and health of our residents affect this issue.
• Infrastructure - November 10 at Pine Hill Waldorf School, Wilton. How does the physical (roads,bridges, water and sewer) affect our communities' potential for growth? What about the digital (broadband and cell phone coverage)? Maintaining infrastructure is one of the topmost challenges and expense facing our towns.
• Energy - December 8, Hollis Social Library, Hollis. New Hampshire is one of the most expensive states for energy for bother residential, commercial and industrial. The high cost of energy directly affects our manufacturing sector, the number one provider of jobs in our state. We will look at how energy costs impact our potential for growth.
• Tourism, Arts & Culture - January 12 (snow date Jan. 19), Brookline Town Hall. The Creative Economy, attracting visitors, the NonProfit world and more.