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Greater Newport Chamber outlines regional economic push to Jamestown council; cites grant leverage and workforce housing needs
Summary
Erin Donovan Boyle of the Greater Newport Chamber described regional programming, funding models and initiatives including a $150,000 operating budget that helped attract over $1,000,000 in grants in 2024, a DoD land-use planning grant and a workforce-housing projection of 6,000–9,000 units across nine communities over 10 years.
Erin Donovan Boyle, president and CEO of the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, addressed the Jamestown Town Council to explain the chamber’s regional economic-development work and opportunities for municipal engagement.
The chamber, Boyle said, serves Newport County and partners with a nonprofit called the Newport County Development Council to fund a regional economic-development division launched in 2019. "The the overall budget for that initiative each year is about $150,000. But last year in 2024, we actually raised over $1,000,000 in grants," Boyle said, adding that private philanthropy and municipal contributions supplement the program.
Boyle described current and planned work that could affect Jamestown, including a "soft landing" program to attract out-of-state companies, technical assistance and grant-writing capacity available to small towns, and a Department of Defense land-use planning grant she said is worth about $750,000 to support coordination around Naval Station Newport and municipal planning.
She also highlighted broadband and workforce-housing as regional priorities. The chamber’s workforce-housing report, Boyle said, estimates the nine coastal communities will need roughly 6,000–9,000 new units over the next decade to meet workforce demand. Boyle said the chamber can assist municipalities with feasibility studies and grant applications and invited a municipal liaison from Jamestown to participate in the chamber’s municipal liaison program.
Councilors asked about cost to participate. Boyle said smaller municipalities historically paid about $5,000 while larger contributors provided approximately $25,000; she described a menu of engagement options and said Jamestown had participated in the past but not in recent years. Councilors discussed using the chamber’s grant-writing and planning services to pursue state and federal funds for broadband and infrastructure.
The council did not vote on whether Jamestown would rejoin the regional program; members directed staff to follow up on available options and potential budget implications.
