News Source: Providence Journal

Date Publised:y February 5, 2008

By Meahgan Wims, Journal Staff Writer

Note: All newclips are extracted in their editorial entirety and are not altered by
Marforth Group in any way.

Middletown Hires Business Consultant

Middletown - Six months ago, economic-development consultant The Mayforth Group presented the Town Council with a series of recommendations on improving the community’s business climate.

First among those suggested initiatives was the hiring of a business-development coordinator who would serve as a point-person for business owners and would be responsible for making the town more business-friendly.

Last night, the Town Council followed that recommendation and appointed a part-time coordinator at $50,000 for a year’s worth of work toward bettering the local economy.

The winning bidder: None other than The Mayforth Group, the only firm that responded to the town’s request for proposals.

The town’s Economic Development Advisory Committee recommended Mayforth for the job not just because they were the only choice, said Committee Chairman Robert M. Silva, a local lawyer.

The committee was impressed by Mayforth’s work on its initial report — “The Competitive Edge: Recommendations for Enhancing Middletown’s Economic Climate,” delivered in August after a four-month study — and its commitment to the town since. Silva said Mayforth has worked with the committee beyond the expiration of its contract last summer.

Plus, Silva said, the consultant agreed to reduce its requested fee by $10,000, recognizing the town’s budget constraints.

Mayforth Chairman Richard M. McAuliffe Jr. pledged to give the town its money’s worth.

“If we don’t do our job of bringing in a lot more than $50,000 [in business], you shouldn’t have us here, quite frankly.... This job should more than pay for itself, with grant money and by increasing the tax base by bringing in more businesses.”

Mayforth Group is tasked with helping existing business as well as promoting new enterprises. It must, among other things, maintain an inventory of available commercial properties in Middletown; create a “one-stop checklist” for permitting and licensing of new ventures; market the town to business interests; seek grants; develop incentives for growing businesses; and strengthen the Aquidneck Corporate Park.

Mayforth Group has already organized a “contractors’ conference” for Feb. 25 to teach area contractors in how to attract work.

Mayforth’s contract will expire Jan. 31, 2009, but can be extended for a year. The consultant is expected to work 10 to 15 hours a week.

Councilman Robert J. Sylvia, a liaison to the economic committee, raved about The Mayforth Group.

“The skill set, the knowledge, the commitment, the creativity, the enthusiasm — you couldn’t ask for anything more than this group,” Sylvia said. “Our return on this investment will be paid back ten-fold.”

The Mayforth Group had, in its previous $30,000 study, urged the town to promote tourism, collaborate with the Navy and area defense industries and nurture its existing small businesses. The report recommended that Middletown consider establishing a town center as an alternative to Newport’s Thames Street and guide the future development of the Atlantic Beach area with a special focus on improved parking and monitoring of Narragansett Bay’s water quality.

McAuliffe, a registered Rhode Island and federal lobbyist, is a former aide to U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy. The Mayforth Group’s clients have included the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, Carnegie Abbey Club owner O’Neill Properties Group and the Town of Portsmouth. The firm has offices in Providence and Washington, D.C.