Business & Tech

NK's New Economic Development Director Gets To Work

The Town Council brought on Paige Bronk for a one-year, $75,000 contract.


For Town Manager Mike Embury, hiring someone to serve as North Kingstown's ecomonic development director only makes sense. He ticks off some of the issues facing the town.

"Post Road in North Kingstown has not changed … since 1982. Everybody says, 'Well, you have Quonset.' Quonset is separate. It’s its own entity," Embury said. "We have the whole Phillips Street and 102 corridor. [And,] if you look at Route 2 … I doubt that the farms are always going to stay the farms."

An economic development director’s "been something that’s been necessary for quite a while and the council agreed with that," he said. "So, if we’re in with trying to improve the economic culture in town, we needed someone who could devote the time to doing that as opposed to having existing staff split their time."

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That person is Paige Bronk, hired by the town for a one-year, $75,000 contract. Bronk comes to North Kingstown after more than 20 years of management and planning experience, including several years as planning director for the City of Newport.

Embury said this is the first time they've had a point-person hired specifically for economic development. “In the past, it’s been people in the Planning Department who have undertaken the task when they’ve had the time."

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Bronk's contract runs from April 2013 to March 2014, but Embury said he will most likely continue at least through the end of that fiscal year, June 30.

"There are specific tasks, benchmarks that we’ve talked about," said Embury. 

Town Council President Liz Dolan said one of the goals is to make North Kingstown more business-friendly.

Embury agreed. For a long time, he said, "this place was known as 'No' Kingstown."

He referred to the fight against Walmart and other development on Ten Rod Road.

"When you have a highway and you have a couple of entrances and exits, that’s where people want to develop businesses," he said. "It’s zoned for commercial. That’s where [businesses] want to be. That’s where it’s going to happen."

Dolan said the position was created after the town's Economic Development Advisory Board pushed for it.  

"Recently, it has been reinvigorated with some new members, chaired by David Caldwell, who expressed the specific need for an Economic Development Advisor who could and would focus all efforts on economic revitalization townwide," she said. The Town Council agreed and voted to create this position earlier this year.

"Paige brings much experience to this position," said Dolan. "As a 'staff' member of the Planning Department, he will focus solely on efforts to attract new business by reaching out to prospective interested parties and guiding them through the necessary steps. His grant-writing experience will also benefit the town by seeking any and all financial assistance that may supplement economic development efforts."

Bronk said North Kingstown needs to understand how the market matches what the community desires. If you know what the market wants, he said, you can position yourself better. 

To that end, Embury said he wants Bronk to get a market analysis of North Kingstown. 

"From a business perspective, there’s never been a market analysis," he said. 

"Paige has a great amount of experience and will certainly provide the professional expertise to move things forward," said Embury.

"So far, Paige has shown enthusiasm and an ability to blend in with current staff and the EDAB," said Dolan, "and I am very hopeful that this effort will be successful."

What do you think is North Kingstown's most pressing economic development issue?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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