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| Town Administrator Jeff Nutting and reps from Walsh Construction and the Town of Franklin DPW updated the group on the streetscape improvement progress last Thursday. |
The Milford Daily News joined us for our General Meeting last Thursday morning. We had a packed house and delivered a lot of good information. Here's the story:
Franklin Officials look to promote business
- By Mike Gleason/Daily News StaffPosted Sep. 7, 2015 at 12:01 AM
FRANKLIN - Business officials discussed ways to encourage Dean College
students to buy locally at a Franklin Downtown Partnership meeting last
week.
Partnership members, speaking at the organization's Thursday morning
session, said they had been in touch with the college about creating a
formal program - to be called something along the lines of "Dean
Discounts" - to attract students. The college will resume classes on
Tuesday.
"Our members can offer a discount to students," partnership Executive
Director Lisa Piana said, noting that, while the original plan was a
blanket discount, it had been loosened somewhat. "(The business
owners) come up with the discount - 10 percent off, buy one get one
or something else."
Piana said the plan would be to have a visual marker - possibly a paw
print sticker - at the business to indicate that it participates in the
program.
"We really want to make sure the students know about it at all the
different places they see it," she said.
A Dean College official present at the meeting noted that many students
opt not to get in their cars to shop or get food, instead preferring to
frequent downtown establishments. This program, he said, would be a
good way to build off that.
Brian Taberner, the town planning director, also noted that there is a
project underway to "brand" the downtown area, and that some Dean
marketing students were taking part in it.
"The idea is to develop a brand, logo and message (for downtown),"
he said. "This brand and logo will relate directly to what downtown is."
Some partnership members asked that efforts focus not only on
downtown businesses, but also establishments elsewhere in town.
Taberner noted that the process would be public, and there would
be opportunities for community members to provide input.
"I think I see a lot of great things in the near future," he said.
Mike Gleason can be reached at 508-634-7546 or
mgleason@wickedlocal.com. For news throughout the day, follow
him on Twitter @MGleason_MDN.
