Gloucester’s second business focus group, called Business Group 2.0 recently finished meeting and focused on ways to bring more people into the county to make the businesses here thrive. The first focus group developed ways for the county to revise its ordinances and regulations to make them more business-friendly.
Robert “JJ” Orth, Abingdon district’s representative on the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors, spearheaded the focus group idea. During his first term on the board, Orth said he knew right away Gloucester needed to be more mindful of business. This was also the time that the country was reeling from the 2008 recession.
According to Orth, some of the more cumbersome regulations that were imposed by the county were developed during a period when Gloucester was experiencing very rapid growth. “They probably adopted these ordinances when things were happening so fast,” he said.
One of the initial tasks accomplished by the first focus group and county staff was to re-examine ordinances and regulations that were putting an unnecessary burdens on small businesses. The focus group came up with a “strategic plan,” which was then passed along to Gloucester’s county administrator and, with his help, has worked to make government as efficient as possible.
After those accomplishments were made, Orth said the question came up, “What next?” He said the things the county has implemented to make things easier for businesses to operate here are all well and good. “But if the people aren’t here to support the businesses, they won’t stay here,” Orth said. “So, we also needed to look at how to bring in the people component, which lead us to Business Group 2.0.”
This second group has been working in concert with Gloucester’s Economic Development Authority to help determine the culture of the county and how people outside of the county perceive Gloucester. “The emphasis has been not just improving things for businesses, but what can we do to bring people in,” he said.
The group has come up with four priorities. One is to promote and support private development and redevelopment. The second is to sell the remaining parcels in the Gloucester Business Park and invest in site preparation for future potential businesses.
The next priority is to appoint a steering committee to develop workforce development initiatives centered on high school students who are looking to enter the workforce upon graduation. “Workforce development jobs are going unfilled because of lack of skilled labor,” Orth said. This includes potential internships with county government departments such as public utilities.
The final priority is to work to improve Gloucester as a place to locate to with a family. “These are quality of life issues such as parks and recreation and broadband availability,” Orth said. “And we need to find that balance between growth and that quality of life. This is something the board has grappled with … we can build all the homes we want, but if people aren’t coming into the county, they’ll sit empty.”