Marconi: 'Ridgefield Alive and Well' [VIDEO]

The town of Ridgefield has a three-to-four percent vacancy rate—a positive sign about a vibrant downtown, First Selectman Rudy Marconi told local business leaders last week.

"We need you to spread the word that Ridgefield is alive and well, despite the fact that we have a few open vacancies on Main Street," he urged business leaders in attandance at the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce awards luncheon. (Click on the video for a full excerpt on this topic.)

His "state of the town" address touched on an array of other topics.

Marconi discussed his attendance at a recent CL&P meeting, during which he was "outspoken" in describing the need to restore power quickly to locals after major storms. He also said he was pleased to report that FEMA covered 100 percent of Ridgefield's storm cleanup needs.

Though housing seems to be picking up, Marconi said, the town's unemployment rate hovered around 6 percent—a fact he said town officials had to keep in mind when crafting town budgets. Forceclosures are so far down this year from where they have been, with only one reported in 2013, as compared to 18, 19 and 15, in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.

He spoke about construction plans for a three-screen movie theatre planned for the site behind the library, also under construction. "With $15 million in private donations [toward library renovations], the town's $5 million contribution is a good investment into what will be the crown jewel of Main Street," he said.

Marconi also said those projects included accessibility for people with disabilities and described how ramps for the movie theater and library would be lined up to ensure easy pathways.

He reminded business leaders that the town's public budget hearing is March 27 and said he thought the school district had achieved a reasonable increase in their budget, even with an increase in security spending.

"Newtown changed the way we live," he said. "It had a profound impact on all of us in Ridgefield. Deb Low has done a great job."