Prison puts Berlin back in business

[Silent_Bob]

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120822/NEWS02/708229950

BERLIN — Day care, dry cleaning and dog-walking are three businesses that will be in demand by workers at the soon-to-be-operational federal prison, according to Diana Nelson of the Berlin office of NH Works.

"Someone could open a business that's sure to succeed," Nelson told members of the White Mountain Rotary Club-Berlin/Gorham during the group's weekly meeting.

With the Federal Correctional Institute-Berlin on target to receive its first inmates by the end of this month, business opportunities for local residents are getting closer to becoming a reality, she said.

Nelson said there is no full-service dry cleaners in the area. When the prison is fully staffed, there will be more than 300 employees seeking to get their uniforms clean, she said.

Add to that number the employees at the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin, she said.

Available day care spaces are getting scarcer, she said, as prison employees transfer into the area and bring their young families with them.

She said a prison employee with five children recently moved into her neighborhood, and that the transfer employees "are coming in waves."

There's also a shortage of family rental properties, particularly properties that could accommodate pets, she said. Prison employees often have to transfer for promotions, and prefer to rent housing instead of buy it.

Nelson said there is also an opportunity in pet care, as dog walkers will be in demand.

Mark Belanger of NH Works said the prison's payroll will be $20 million, which will have a ripple effect on the local economy.

He also remarked that when a local person is hired for a job at the prison, it's likely that he or she is leaving a vacancy for someone else to fill.

For those who want to do business directly with the prison, there is a workshop on Thursday at the Twitchell House at the White Mountains Community College in Berlin. The free workshop, conducted by the New Hampshire Procurement Technical Assistance Program, is for companies that hope to sell goods and services to the prison in transactions under $3,000.

The session will review how to handle P-Cards, the federal government credit cards that are usually used for such purchases.

The workshop runs from 12:30 to 3 p.m. To pre-register, go to nhptap.ecenterdirect.com.

For more information on the federal prison and economic opportunities available, go to berlinnh.gov/Pages/BerlinNH_Prison.