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Downtown nonprofit asks Newport City Council to keep funding level as it details grants, marketing push
Summary
Newport City Renaissance presented accomplishments, outlined grant applications and asked the council to maintain the city’s $25,000 contribution; the group described USDA and Vermont Arts Council grant requests, marketing aimed at Canadian visitors and a downtown walking-path proposal tied to private investment.
Newport City Renaissance (NCRC) asked the Newport City Council on Dec. 19 to maintain the organization’s current city funding level and described a string of recent projects it says are boosting downtown investment.
Karen Garrity, the group’s acting chair, told the council the volunteer-led nonprofit updated its website for mobile use, is preparing French-language content to reach visitors from Quebec and ran a business outreach program timed to the new Walmart Supercenter in neighboring Derby. Garrity said NCRC supported a downtown marketing campaign, contributed $5,000 to the Newport Vermont Jazz Festival and is matching private funds for a six-month ‘Shop Small’ media blitz.
The group reported nearly $574,000 in tax-credit awards tied to downtown projects and said those credits helped to leverage about $8.2 million in private investment downtown. Garrity said NCRC has applied for a $15,000 Vermont Arts Council “Animating Infrastructure” grant and an $89,200 USDA Rural Development grant to build a walking path behind the Vista shopping center that would include art installations aimed at drawing pedestrian traffic to downtown businesses.
Ernie Pomerlow, a local business owner who spoke as a case study for the downtown designation’s benefits, emphasized private–public coordination and urged the council to keep municipal support in place. “Empty is bad, filled is good,” Pomerlow said, describing downtown occupancy and the need to link major draws such as supermarkets to downtown merchants.
Councilmembers asked for accountability details and a line-item spreadsheet showing how the city contribution is used. Garrity said NCRC will provide a forthcoming annual report with financial breakdowns and promised to post presentation materials on the NCRC website and the city website.
Next steps: NCRC requested level funding; council members did not vote on a funding amount at the Dec. 19 meeting but captured follow-up questions about the group’s staffing and annual report timing.
