Downtown Milford Inc. reports growth, asks council to renew $50,000 support
Loading...
Summary
Downtown Milford Inc. described rebranding, expanded footprint, event metrics and a request for the same city funding as last year ($50,000); the group also asked council to support a state-level reappropriation of $600,000 for facade grants.
Terry Rogers, president of Downtown Milford Inc., presented the nonprofit’s annual report at the Milford council workshop and said the group is seeking the same city funding it received last year.
"Same as last year. We are not asking for an increase," Rogers said when asked to confirm the group’s municipal request, which council staff noted was $50,000 last year.
Rogers reviewed accomplishments: a complete rebrand, an expanded district footprint to include more businesses, a new website with posted financials and minutes, and a near-term plan to open a renovated office in the Trinity Executive Center (the move was delayed by a fire marshal issue). He said the group welcomed eight new downtown businesses in the past year and that three marquee events (Irish music and dance/pub crawl, Bug and Bud, and Holiday Stroll) together brought almost 15,000 visitors and an estimated $2.25 million in economic activity using a $150-per-visitor spending benchmark.
Rogers said Downtown Milford Inc. raised $45,876 in net event income in 2024 and secured $61,723.86 in sponsorships. He asked the city to support legislative efforts to reappropriate $600,000 of state-appropriated money (originally awarded for a shipyard project) to a local historic-preservation facade grant program; Rogers said $125,000 from a prior appropriation was reallocated to Parson Thorne.
No vote or appropriation occurred at the workshop; Rogers said the group is in final interviews for a Downtown Milford coordinator and expects to have staff by mid-April.
