WILTON — Speakers for the first in a series of economic forums Monday touted the town’s potential for positive growth.

“Wilton has a lot of assets to build on,” Alison Hagerstrom, executive director of the Greater Franklin Development Corp., said.

Hagerstrom and Town Manager Rhonda Irish described assets, including two of the county’s largest employers providing more than 500 jobs, more than 100 small businesses, 15 agricultural-based businesses, motels, parks, Tax Increment Financing districts and its proximity to educational, health, manufacturing and recreational opportunities in other towns.

Irish and Hagerstrom developed the series titled, “Wilton Economic Forum, Wilton’s Future… Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Energy and Technology.”

It started with a conversation involving state Rep. Russell Black, Jen McEntee of Barclay Card and Irish, she said. They discussed the need to be more proactive to attract and keep businesses, Irish said.

The idea was to not dwell on the town’s past manufacturing history but to take a good look at the future potential in other areas, including technology, Irish told a crowd of more than 30 selectmen, residents, business owners and legislative representatives gathered at Calzolaio Pasta Co.

Other speakers included Darryl Sterling of Richmond who spoke about the “value and funding of local community and economic development programs from a local perspective or how to really get things done.”

Sterling is former director of economic and community development for Richmond and the current executive director of the Central Maine Growth Council. He described a process that has made a difference in the business climate of Richmond, one that people are starting to notice, he said.

Comparing Richmond to Wilton, Sterling told of a small town with about 3,500 people that lost 300 jobs after the largest employer, a shoe factory, closed. People were leaving, infrastructure was neglected and the town was declining, he said.

“It began with an idea accepted by the community,” he said, “followed by an action plan with goals and priorities set and strategies implemented.”

The local municipal commitment to foster economic and community development “produced over $3 million in grants and over $15 million in private investment and the creation of over 200 new jobs in 2007-2010,” Sterling said.

Foster Regional Applied Technology Center Director Glen Kapiloff described programs at the center that provide students with skills based on industry recognized national standards.

The nearly 400 students from schools around the county participate in 18 different programs of study, including composites, biotech, computer technology and robotics. There are programs that allow students to earn college credits and also prepare them for jobs in these and other program areas.

The Three-Ring Binder Project ran an 1,100-mile fiber-optic network throughout Maine. The good news is it runs down Wilton’s Main Street, Josh Broder and Aaron Paul said.

Broder helped build the technology infrastructure of the program while Paul helps communities learn how to use it, Broder said.

“There’s still work to be done to use it,” Broder said of the community connection with the high-speed fiber-optic line. “It’s not a reason for someone to come to town.”

It does offer a potential for lower-cost, higher-speed networks shared among entities along the the line, he said.

Other forums are being planned for May and June, Hagerstrom said.

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