Presentations Draw a Bright Future for Montville

The Montville Town Council heard a couple of presentations Monday that reinforced the idea of a strong and growing community.

Jim Toner, a member of the Economic Development Commission, and Chuck Longton, the commission’s chairman, spoke about the economic state of the town, as seen through the eyes of men and women who opened businesses in 2009 and 2010.

Toner said the group had heard anecdotally that business owners found it difficult to work with the town.

So the EDC set out to find out why businesses opened in Montville, what they found easy about the process and what they found difficult.

Toner and Montville Police Lt. Leonard J. Bunnell interviewed 18 of the 28 businesses that opened during that span, and that by and large, Toner said, the responses of business owners were surprisingly positive.

The results were similar to those found in a smaller survey conducted a few months ago. To read more, click .

In general, Toner and Longton said that business owners liked Montville’s central location, weren’t overly concerned about the tax rate, and found it easy to do business with the town.

Following Toner, Glen Mathieu and Jeanmarie Martin gave a presentation on the Montville Community Rally, which will take place on Sunday, June 5. It's the rally's second year.

“History was made last year,” Mathieu said, when 70 motorcycles attended the first Montville Community Rally, riding from the high school to Fort Shantok, and raising $3,511 for diabetes and other causes.

The vision this year, Mathieu said, is to allow more organizations to raise more money, to “bring the community together (and) showcase our great town.”

Diabetes will be the focal point of this year’s fundraising, Mathieu said.

This year, the Asian and American Lions Club is helping with the event, which will be expanded to include a motorcycle poker run, a wide array of food, space for dozens of vendors, live music, a Parade of Thunder and more.

The group needs volunteers, he said, and invited people to contact him montvillerally@gmail.com and check out the group’s Facebook page, or the Asian and American Lions Club page.

Tickets for all portions of the event - entry, the poker run, the lunch, and more - are on sale now, at a significant discount. Rally T-shirts may be ordered now, again at a discount. Vendor spots are available, as it advertising space on the back of the rally T-shirt.