HILLSBOROUGH, NJ – Regina Egea, president of the Garden Sate Initiative, a non-profit “think tank” that provides analysis and commentary on issues and events impacting New Jersey will join a panel of local business owners and central New Jersey business advocates to examine the local economy as New Jersey slowly emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic and begins to recover.
“Our goal is to connect state and local issues,” she said. “We take broad research at the state level and talk about that at the local level to see how state policies are affecting their economy.”
Residents and the business community are invited to join “Hillsborough and the Economy: What is Next After COVID?” on Thursday, June 3 beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The virtual event is sponsored by the TAPinto Hillsborough news website and the Garden State Initiative.
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwudeGgrjksGdwrd30BGbot-ZqgNnuSCeb7
The forum will focus on the long-awaited Route 206 bypass and its impact on local business and the creation of a passive restaurant and retail district along the “old” Route 206 which is to be designated “Business Route 206.” A ribbon-cutting to commemorate the opening of the 3.6-mile bypass is scheduled two days after the forum on June 5.
The forum will also take a look at local businesses and how they survived the damaging effects of the pandemic and the township’s decision last week to ban the sale of marijuana on the retail level, warehousing and farming.
Critics at the May 26 public hearing said the township was being short-sighted, eliminating potential tax revenue from legal cannabis businesses, but the Township Committee, by a vote of 4-1 said it was under the gun, facing an Aug. 21 deadline to “opt in” or “opt out” of state mandates that would impose a five-year commitment to the rules and regulations still being promulgated by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
The township does have the option of reevaluating its decision once the rules and regulations are finalized by the commission.
“Leadership and foresight at the local level is necessary in any partnership with the state,” Egea said. “If you want to foster new business, the town should be in control of that economic development.”
Other panelists include:
– Chris Edwards, president and CEO of the Somerset County Business Partnership, which represents nearly 900 businesses large and small and 70,000 employees;
– David Kois, Hillsborough Township Business Advocate who works with over 600 businesses in the township;
– Hillsborough Mayor Shawn Lipani and owner of Central Jersey Nurseries, a third-generation business that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020;
– Jeremy Lees, owner of Flounder Brewery which continued its expansion and relocation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The online forum will be moderated by veteran journalist Rod Hirsch, owner and editor of the TAPinto Hillsborough news website.
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