Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rural Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Coös County Delegation, Commissioners Urge Lawmakers to Designate County a Distressed Place Economy
Summary
Sen. David Rochefort and multiple Coös County officials and residents urged the EDNA committee to back Senate Bill 180, which would let the state officially designate Coös County as a "distressed place economy" so applicants can highlight that status in federal and state grant competitions.
Sen. David Rochefort opened the hearing on Senate Bill 180, a bill to designate Coös County a “distressed place economy” and require state agencies to consult county leaders when major state decisions may affect the county.
Sen. Rochefort described the bill as an attempt to recognize long‑running economic challenges in the North Country and to give Coös County a clearer way to signal distress when applying for competitive federal grants. He said the designation would not automatically deliver new funds but would be a scoring factor in grant competitions where regions are assessed for need.
Coös County Commissioners Raymond Gorman and Robert Tableaus testified with a unified county delegation that described local economic pain points including mill closures, declining population and concentrated dependence on tourism and forest‑product businesses. They cited two local disputes — a decision by a state park or trail authority to shorten off‑highway vehicle (OHV) access and a controversy over timber harvests and easement enforcement on a large conservation tract — as examples of where county officials felt excluded from decision‑making in Concord.
Local economic‑development practitioners and residents described the county’s dependence on seasonal tourism, outdoor recreation and a small manufacturing base. Speakers urged the committee to allow the designation to be used as a grant scoring factor and to require state agencies to collaborate with county officials on decisions that may have an economic effect on the region.
Questions from senators touched on how to define the criteria for “distressed place economy” and whether geographic or programmatic benchmarks should be included. Testifiers suggested using federal benchmarks (for example, those used by the Economic Development Administration) or submitting supplemental economic analyses when applying for particular grants.
Ending: The committee closed the hearing after extensive local testimony. Witnesses and senators agreed the concept was intended to improve grant competitiveness and interagency consultation rather than to create new entitlements; the committee will consider drafting language clarifying criteria and consultation processes.
