Chester County mulls its economic future

WEST CHESTER In the latest step toward a 10-year economic development strategy, Chester County government and business leaders are encouraging residents to visit a newly launched website and fill out a questionnaire about the direction the county should take.

The strategy, called the VISTA 2025 initiative, is an effort to balance economic progress and the preservation of natural and historic resources, and is to guide future projects and spending.

The plan will help the county maximize its assets and address its challenges, Commissioner Ryan Costello said. It can help bring businesses to the county and guide infrastructure spending, he said.

Costello encouraged residents to weigh in at www.vista2025.com.

The questionnaire is available through June 15.

"The more input we get, the better product we're going to get out of this," he said.

The input phase follows the first step in collecting information to figure out Chester County's economic place among other counties in Pennsylvania and throughout the country. Focus groups of professionals in various industries also have met over the last couple of months.

The Chester County Economic Development Council will then give its recommendations for a 10-year business strategy in late summer or early fall, said David Sciocchetti, an urban development consultant with the council.

"Just because we've done extremely well over the last 10 or 15 years," he said, "doesn't mean we will continue to do that if we're not thinking about how to make the right decisions to do the right kinds of things."