Thriving economy offsets bad weather for farmers

Vermont Business Magazine, Aug 01, 2000 by Barna, Ed

At the turn of the millennium, Addison County is a region in transition, a place where "agricultural" and "rural" are becoming less and less synonymous.

The wide open space of "the Great Plains of Vermont" are beckoning to homebuilders and manufacturers seeking sites, as well as to farmers. Especially in the northern part of the county, around Vergennes and Ferrisburgh, spillover effects from the economic boom in Chittenden County are having perceptible effects on the both landscapes and streetscapes.

Telecommunications have shrunk physical distances and shifted the boundary lines between one business and another, often dissolving old corporate ties. It has become a commonplace strategy for business owners, entrepreneurs or skilled independent contractors to seek natural surroundings and small-scale, historic community settings, often while remaining in touch with urban and hightech work zones.

The more polluted, overheated and socially dysfunctional other regions of the nation become, the more places like Vermont appeal to second home owners and retirees, who sometimes bring strong business skills and an interest in making volunteer contributions. Addison County gets its share of them, and more than its share of former Middlebury College graduates, who are already aware of the cultural resources that the institution adds to the county's lifestyle advantages.

What hasn't changed is Addison County's mix of sectors, with manufacturing, farming, forest products, extraction (OMYA's Middlebury marble quarry, sand and gravel operations), tourism, retailing, professional services (especially at the Porter Medical Center) and education (Middlebury College is the county's largest employer) all contributing. Except for agriculture, the drought of last year has been replaced by supersaturated conditions this year, the region as a whole remains an example of the national economic-boom rather than an exception to it.

Not that business and community leaders are taking anything for granted or leaving matters to chance. In all three population centers county seat Middlebury, upland Bristol and northerly Vergennes/Ferrisburgh - proactive measures to support and enhance growth have been among the year's leading developments.

LOOKING UP

The basic labor force statistics for this year convey a lot of energy in the economy. According to Department of Employment and Training statistician Michael Griffin, the 2.4 percent unemployment rate of last June dropped to 2 percent.

At the same time, fewer people are working inside the county, something Griffin said could reflect people taking jobs in Rutland or Chittenden Counties, rather than actual number of workers declining. Reports of stores reducing their hours, and farms going back from three milkings to two milkings each day, suggest that perhaps wage earnings are rising rather than falling, as well as there being an acute shortage of workers.

In any case, the 20,000 people employed in May of 1999 dropped to 19,900 for May of 2000, and in June, the comparable figures showed a drop from 19,550 to 19,350.

At the National Bank of Middlebury, the larger of the county's two independent and locally owned banks (the First National Bank of Orwell is the other), president

Ken Perine said the regional economy seems to be hitting on most cylinders.

For small businesses, the year's wet start did affect some, but others seemed to have benefited - especially in the amount of purchases, Perine said.

"Perhaps the rain has been driving people indoors," he said. Hospitality businesses seem to be having "an average or a better-thanaverage year so far," he said. The labor shortage has been a problem for everyone, he said.

As far as industry goes, "the firms we're talking with are having good years, and profitable years," Perine said.

Probably the hardest hit, aside from the farmers, have been service businesses, Perine said. Cleaning firms, cosmetology shops, bookkeepers and so on are "climbing all over each other," competing in a way that makes it impossible to increase their level of pay, he said.

As for the National Bank of Middlebury itself, "We're having a good year," Perine said. Their 58 full-time-equivalent positions, which number about 65 employees, are now spread between Middlebury and a Bristol branch, which is in the process of moving across Main Street to larger quarters, he said. Lending has increased faster than deposits, pushing the bank to find other ways of supplying capital, Perine said, but "those are good problems to have. The profitability is still on track with where we want to be."

UNREAL REAL ESTATE, WITH REAL ESTATES

One strong source of business for the National Bank of Middlebury has been the residential real estate market. Sources among the county's real estate brokerages confirmed that real estate is booming, along with new home construction.

Asked about the current market, 13-year veteran George Brewer of Lang Associates Realtors in Middlebury first said, "Oh, my gosh." After thinking a bit, he said that was probably the best summary, because, "It's been unbelievable."