The 8th annual Burlington Business Association Business Summit was held Jan. 7 at Champlain College to look at the question "What Fuels Burlington's Economy.

The panel of experts, Rolf Kielman of TruexCullins Architecture, Jeff Nick of J.L. Davis Realty and Elisabeth "Liz" Roberts, CEO of Terry Precision Cycles, talked about the city's roots and how Church Street Marketplace was created, where the city is today in relation to businesses, retail and housing in Chittenden County, and why businesses would and should want to locate in Burlington.

Senior Vice President for Finance at Champlain College, David Provost welcomed the participants and spoke briefly about Champlain College's relationship with the city, the College's entrepreneurial "Bring Your Own Business" program for students and the college's plans for a new $15 million Perry Hall Welcome Center expected to open in August of this year.

Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss also attended and welcomed the businesses and organizations to the annual summit.

After the morning's formal presentations, the attendees broke into smaller focus groups to brainstorm ideas for what's ahead for Burlington. Among the suggestions:
• better transportation and parking options for the city
• stronger marketing and branding of the city
• additional hotel and convention space on the Waterfront
• Focusing on a good mix of retail and housing in the downtown.

The results from the focus group meetings will be posted on the BBA's website, www.bbavt.org, according to Kelly Devine, BBA's executive director.