Bennington County: Diversity, unexpected strengths maintain economy

The second home market collapses, as formerly affluent out-of-staters suffer investment losses. Manchester stores start leaving for outlet malls closer to population centers, shopping meccas that are doing better because gas prices make long drives expensive.

Bennington, with its manufacturing base eroding like those in the Midwestern rust belt, has more holes in its downtown retail streets than its impoverished artists can decorate with unsold works.

Scenarios like this might have come true had the American economy slid into a true depression, but it didn’t. Not only are doom-and-gloom visions inappropriate, they are in some cases diametrically opposed to what has happened in the past year.

The ski areas had a good winter, and this summer they showed they were still valued as places for families to gather and enjoy a range of activities. Manchester took a hit in retail sales in 2008, but has seen new stores replace the few that left and seems likely to post a retail recovery in 2009.

Manufacturers in the Bennington area sometimes needed to downsize operations to weather the storm, but that sector has made more money in than expected and has been adding back jobs due to a lucrative military contract. And don’t mourn for downtown Bennington, which is enjoying a huge boom in tourism thanks partly to having added a herd of life-size, artistically decorated moose as an attraction in addition to its deer park.

The nation’s economic debacle showed the wisdom of diversifying investment portfolios. Bennington County, which is so diverse in character than the Northshire and Southshire are almost two different counties, likewise has shown that with more than one kind of bedrock strength, its takes more of an earthquake than breaking bubbles to demolish the economy.

Vital Signs

State tax statistics show that 2008’s woes reached into Bennington County as well. Sometimes the consequences were hard to predict.

Ordinarily, Manchester sends more sales tax money to the State than Bennington, but in the full tilt recessionary year of 2008, one of the indicative inversions was Bennington leading Manchester in taxable retail sales by more than $18 million.

Overall, Bennington County dropped in retail sales between 2007 and 2008 (the most recent comparable figures that the Tax Dept. publishes). In 2007, they had totaled $306,789,742 – fourth largest after Chittenden, Rutland and Washington Counties. In 2008, that fell to $291,486,580, off 5 percent. Though Bennington County was still fourth among totals, only Addison County’s 5.2 percent decline was steeper.

But the Town of Bennington wasn’t the problem. They had gone up two-tenths of a percent, from $133,318,794 to $133,643,719. Meanwhile Manchester’s total slid from $129,101,154 to $115,350,503, down 10.7 percent. Look back

To 2001, for example, and the pattern reverses: $124,845,679 for Manchester and $131,305,550 for Bennington.

Consideration of possible causes will wait until the two largest downtowns in the county have a chance to speak, especially about how things are going now. One factor worth noting at the outset is that Wal-Mart is among the discounters to whom shoppers have been flowing during the recession, and only Bennington has a Wal-Mart. Residents value it enough to have voted down the idea of a store size limits, and the Bennington branch is on its way to becoming a Superstore with a much larger grocery section.

Comparing the property transfer tax receipts for 2007 and 2008 gives the clearest indication that a storm passed through.

Here it was Bennington that hurt the most.

The number of residential transfers with under six acres dropped from 300 to 231, and open space transactions from 108 to 62. Commercial real estate moved more often – 27 times in 2007, 41 times in 2008 – but the statistics don’t say whether the sales were more about selling out or buying in.

Overall, property transfer tax receipts fell from $565,771 to $359,978 – down 36 percent. The Manchester transfer tax total dropped too, but not as much or as steeply: from $601,947 to $547,108, or a little over 9 percent. To put these figure in perspective, the statewide totals went from $39,317,848 in 2007 to $33,991,555 in 2008, with the $5,326,293 gap representing a 13.5 percent drop.

County-wide, receipts from the tourism-oriented rooms, meals and alcohol taxes were down from 2007 to 2008: -0.9 percent for rooms, -3.4 percent for meals, and -2.2 percent for alcohol. But again, Manchester took the hit.

In Bennington, the year-to-year M-R-A numbers rose 1.4 percent, 4.2 percent, and 3.4 percent. In Manchester, figures for those receipts fell 4.3 percent, 7.6 percent, and 5.7 percent – suggesting that for the short term, at least, vacationing was cut short.

The numbers for Dover (Mt. Snow) likewise were down: 2.3, 1.9 and 1.1 percent. Killington hit some of the toughest sledding, with the M-R-A numbers falling 2007-2008 11.7, 7.6 and 12.7 percent.

State labor market estimates showed that Bennington County was following the national trend of renewed employment lagging renewed economic activity. Corrected seasonally for June, the total number in the labor force rose from 20,800 to 21,500, but the number employed went from 19,850 to 19,800. Unemployment nearly doubled, from 950 to 1,750, the rate rising from 4.4 percent (statewide 4.5 percent in June of 2008) to 8 percent (statewide 6.5 percent) in June of 2009.

But in a longer view, Bennington County may not be doing so badly. The number of employed workers in the recessionary month of June, 2008 – 19,850 – was larger than the 19,250 posted in the go-go year of 2005.

Tales Of Two Downtowns

Fast forward (the faster the better) to the summer of 2009,

“The numbers in our welcome center are two and a half times over last year,” said John Shannahan, executive director of the Better Bennington Corporation. “We’re going into the future with a very good summer behind us.”

Loosing the moose helped lose the blues, he said. Not the smaller versions of moose that were a hit a few years ago, but full-scale Papa and Mama and Baby Moose. People come and take family pictures in front of them then explore and decide to stay awhile, and often to buy something – exactly what had been hoped.

The two-day weekend Vermont sales tax holiday brought a rush of shoppers, often big-ticket shoppers, Shannahan said. It amazes him that a 6 percent discount can do what a 25 percent-off sale won’t, but however it works, downtown will take it.

Special events help, Shannahan said, so despite two previous downpours on the scheduled days, they are mounting another Pumpkin Challenge. They’ve given up on carving more pumpkins than neighboring Keene, New Hampshire, since Boston outdid them both last year.

But last year they were ninth in the world in a charity event staged in 170 countries, he said: a simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” It isn’t a show-up-and-shake kind of thing; the world record attempt will be preceded by nine scheduled classes, and all participants must be registered to participate on Saturday, Oct.24. Shannahan said he is guaranteeing that it won’t rain.

Perhaps more to the point economically, Shannahan said “We have become a very desirable location” because Bennington is right on the fringe of the Seaboard’s highly developed area, so coming to the Shires of Bennington is a quick and easy way to find relatively rural peace and quiet.

Changes have come downtown: 18 businesses leaving in the past 18 months, by his count, but 21 moving in. Of those 21, local business people had begun 18 of the enterprises, he said. Along with retail, the new businesses include professional offices and a few higher-end boutiques, and some residential development – “a nice mix.” There’s still a lot of second-story inventory, but they’ve started making use of the upper stories that are an untapped resource in many communities, he said.

With the northeast quadrant of the Bennington bypasses slated to open in 2012, Shannahan is looking forward to the day when fewer 53-foot trucks get stuck trying to turn at downtown Four Corners, which results in massive traffic tieups and degrades the visiting or shopping experience for anyone affected. Like most others in town, he also wants to see the southeast quadrant built – northwest and northeast will not help north- and south-bound Route 7 to trucks avoid downtown – but that link is not on the Agency of Transportation’s schedule. (Neither is the southeast quadrant, thanks to stubborn resistance from Mt. Anthony.) Federal infrastructure money? There’s hope for spare change.

The Better Bennington Corporation doesn’t see Wal-Mart as a threat, Shannahan said. (Attempts to contact the Bennington Area Chamber of Commerce for their views were unsuccessful.) Without the local Wal-Mart, shoppers might take their dollars to Latham, New York, 30 miles away. “There’s a need for cheap goods,” Shannahan said. The town isn’t unified on this, he acknowledged – “We have pretty healthy debates year round” – but Wal-Mart has been reasonably cooperative in their Act 250 dealings with the area business community.

Which is not to say that they want outside developers to create a big box district, he said. To anyone who promotes a plan, Bennington will say, “We have our core values and you’re going to stick with them.”

Shannahan summed up: “So far so good on 2009, considering what we were up against.”

Beth Meacham, executive director for the Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce following the untimely and lamented death of Jay Hathaway, was surprised to hear how Manchester had lagged Bennington in retail sales tax receipts in 2008. If they were down, now they are back, she said, with 2009 showing clearly that the town needs no big change in its planning to remain viable.

At the lowest point, some of the high-end apparel and accessory retailers decided to close up shop, Meacham said, but other retailers with a broader appeal have replaced them. And though they have no community art project to adorn the streets, Manchester is the starting point for the Art of Action Tour that will end in Washington, DC next summer, she said.

National reports have said that many high-end lodgings have suffered from client investment losses, but Meacham said that does not apply to that linchpin of the Manchester area lodging business, the Equinox Resort & Spa. Describing themselves on their website as “A Luxury Collection Golf Resort and Spa,” the AAA four-diamond hotel has completed a multi-million-dollar renovation project intended to burnish the historic buildings that anchor a unique hostelry with such amenities as falconry and a Land Rover off-road driving school. Meacham said they have done well with their conference business, which introduces sizable numbers of financially qualified visitors to a region known as a visitors’ destination for a century and a half.

Speaking of which, Manchester will held a 250th anniversary celebration in August, which they called a “Bicenquinquagenary.” This event had to fit into a summer calendar which included the Southern Vermont Art Center’s shows, festivals at the Hildene meadows, performances at the Dorset Theatre Festival, presentations and performances at the Northshire Book Store, the Ballet Manchester series, and the huge annual horse show along Route 7 in Dorset.

In short, Manchester remains a dynamic and very active place, Meacham said, regardless of what past statistics might suggest.

Making Something Real

At a time when many of the best ways of making money have proven to be make-believe, Americans generally are wondering where the jobs will be to replace those that have been lost. In Bennington, which has for many years had a much stronger industrial sector than most of Vermont, one company has been getting headlines for adding a significant number of employees.

Looked at historically, it’s two companies. Vermont Composites – a welcome substitute after the loss of Bijur Lubricating – had been doing well in its field, which brought it to the attention of Israel-based Plasan Sasa, which acquired and renamed the Bennington firm in 2006.

In part this was a strategic move by Plasan to facilitate applying for US defense contracts. Some of the composites in question are both lightweight and strong enough to serve as armor – and the adequacy of armor has been a hot issue in regard to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Plasan North America, which now makes automotive products in one Bennington location and meets military specifications in another, had to lay off 90 people early this year in the automotive division. But this summer, it was announced that the Oshkosh Corp. in Wisconsin, which uses Plasan’s armor, had been awarded a $1.05 billion contract, with the potential to rise to $3 billion, for 2,224 armored all-terrain vehicles capable of meeting the challenges of traversing Afghanistan.

Plasan immediately started adding 80 people to their workforce of 120, with those affected by the layoff having priority. As M-ATV production ramps up (with Sen. Patrick Leahy, who has personally visited Plasan, in a position to secure supplemental military appropriations) as many as 2-300 new jobs could be created.

This was not Bennington County’s only military coup. Battenkill Technologies, which moved from Massachusetts to Manchester in 2007, announced they have a $1 million contract with Bath Iron Works of Maine for a monitoring system that will evaluate corrosion in Navy destroyer ballast tanks without the considerable expense of sending in a diver.

Though only a handful of highly technical jobs were likely to be added, Peter Odierna, executive director of the Bennington County Industrial Corporation, said it was helping the area’s reputation for doing high-tech work to have a company known for its work in the artificial intelligence field (they have described their mission as developing advanced algorithms that can handle jobs that would otherwise require human activity). Other Battenkill clients (the name has interesting connotations in a military context) include the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and the Defense Department generally.

Odierna, interviewed by VBM, said there had been one unexpected result of the recession: since none of their manufacturing companies failed, there is now a shortage of good industrial space. But with help from the Vermont Economic Development Authority (and the Town, which as legally mandated agreed to take a second position behind VEDA in guaranteeing the loan), BCIC is developing about 40 acres at the Shields Drive industrial park – now named for board of directors president and long-time figure in the business community Dan Maneely. Odierna also said they are working to upgrade the electric and telecom infrastructure there, and to put together a master plan for the facility.

Repaying VEDA depends on BCIC remaining solvent, and to that end, they took what to some was a surprising step: they sold to Paul Williams the multistory entreprenurial hive in North Bennington where they used to have their headquarters (they are now close to downtown Bennington’s Four Corners, at 215 South Street). Odierna said that in addition to dodging repair and maintenance costs that were detracting from their primary role, the new location will make it easier to collaborate with some of their frequent partners in advancing the area’s economy.

Snow So Fair

Running a ski area is like running a farm: the weather can make or break you. This past year, the Farmer’s Almanac was correct in predicting a winter both cold and wet (climatologists have their own explanation, having to do with expansion of the tropical zone due to global warming, and the dry zone pushing into the South and Southwest, and the rain heading north). The result, for Stratton and Bromley, was a huge countercyclical boost.

At Bromley, spokesman Peter Dee said the snow helped, but so did a $1 million in a new kind of family entertainment. Riders are strapped into a carrier that slides down a cable, sometimes reaching 50 miles per hour, he said.

This was consistent with Bromley’s long-term plan to present itself as a family recreation center, but they weren’t sure how the new form of entertainment would be received, Dee said. “It was a huge success.”

Myra Foster, the communications director at Stratton, said, “We started out with good early snow, and that’s always important,” because it gets skiers in the groove for the winter. Also, they have been adding family activities (skating, snowshoeing under the stars, and so on) because they have found that investors in second homes are finding long-term value in them as rallying points for far-flung families. A ski resort is a good place for a reunion because there is something for those of all ages to do, even if it’s only exploring the slopeside village.

Greenest Raw Materials

Though it isn’t feasible to give attention to all the elements of the Shires, education shouldn’t be overlooked. Among other benefits, it introduces talented young people to a state to which they may return in their seasoned years, sometimes bringing businesses in tow.

At Bennington, Brian Davidson said their new environmental program is doing well, as is the college’s attempt to act environmentally. A new biomass has cut energy bills enough so they expect a good payback time, though the data are still coming in. For fuel, they are using “local byproducts of the lumber industry,” he said – which cuts the carbon footprint by minimizing transportation costs.

Bennington tends to attract future leaders because the classroom work is integrated with outside involvement, Davidson said. They have added a $20 million facility that will serve attempts by students to address such issues as international poverty, controlling AIDS, and the distribution of wealth, he said.

Susan Biggs said Southern Vermont College was seeing very strong application and admission numbers. As one writer observed, she said, prospective students like the idea of being close enough to home (Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, for instance) so they can get back to their parents if necessary, but far enough away so they can act independently without being supervised.

To help keep some of the young talent in the area, SVC and the BCIC have begun a “Build the Enterprise” program that starts with students developing business plans – the best of which (according to a panel of BCIC members) will receive $1,500 to help implement it. Not only that, they get the advise and counsel of top-level people in the business world, Odierna observed. SVC president Karen Gross, who is on the BCIC board, helped convince the school to set up a $100,000 venture fund to help capitalize the start-ups.

Gross said at the time of the announcement, "Hopefully, for these students Bennington County will begin to feel like home and then will become their home, not only a place where they went to college. Our students will want to stay in the place where they've discovered they can achieve success."

They may also find themselves in the company of business people as talented as themselves. As Leahy remarked at the time Plasan was establishing its North American headquarters in Bennington, “Over my lifetime I've seen a lot of manufacturing here in southern Vermont. I want to tell our friends in Israel, you're going to see the best anywhere right here from these men and women.”

Ed Barna is a freelance writer from Middlebury.