by Bea Peterson
A group of more than 30 people, plus members of the Town and Village Boards, attended a meeting on Thursday, January 30, to discuss the future of the Hoosick Community. Many of those attending were part of the recently established Community Revitalization Committee. [private]Primary speaker was Ben Syden of the Laberge Group. He was at the meeting to encourage the Town and Village to use Laberge to update its 2006 Economic Development Plan and to chose from it projects suitable for NYS grant funding. During the meeting several positive issues were brought up.
Members Wanted
Bill Johnston told everyone the Hoosick Local Development Corporation was established in 1981 for the purpose of extending revolving loans to small businesses. “Over the years some succeeded, some failed,” he said. He noted that Lovejoy Chaplet took a loan to purchase equipment and increase its workforce. The company did that, and the loan has been repaid. He said the LDC has $49,000 in funding. Most importantly the LDC needs new members; seven in all. The LDC has been inactive in recent years, and new members would help rejuvenate this program. New members would be required to take a three hour training course mandated by the State. “We are looking for people from all walks of life,” he said. Village and Town Board members cannot serve on this Board.
Civicure
Barbara Sussman addressed the meeting noting that Civicure (The Civic & Cultural Restoration Corporation) has been in existence in the community for many years and has an office on Main Street in Hoosick Falls. The corporation has been floundering a bit since the loss of its leader Rolf Sternberg, she said, and other issues have taken up her time. But, she concluded, Civicure is alive and well and is working behind the scenes and is dedicated to restoring the Wood Block. “I believe in downtown,” she said.
Herb Loretan announced that the Ruditis building has been sold to artist Yucel Erdogan. He said that since the purchase, Erdogan has invested $30,000 in replacing the roof on the building. He is optimistic the building will undergo great changes.
Hoosick Falls Mayor David Borge said the Hoosick Community is at a crossroads. “We’re in a good place,” he said, “and it’s time to move forward as a community.” He said it was a good idea to have the two Boards working together. He noted whatever is good for the Village is good for the Town and what is good for the Town is good for the Village. “We must grow the community as a whole,” he said. “There are pieces that will be specific to the Town and pieces that will be specific to the Village, but all of these pieces will be in the best interest of the community.”
Hoosick Town Supervisor Mark Surdam agreed with Borge and said it was important to keep the positive momentum going. Referring to the 2006 Plan, he said, “The road map is here, so we’re ahead of the game.” During the session Councilman Dave Sutton said it was important that the community take a “stark look at the current status and not try to make us into something we’re not. Let’s not lose what we are; we are unique.” He also said he had realized when he was campaigning how important it was to support local businesses. Deputy Mayor Ric DiDonato said there are many empty buildings and something must be done to bring in tax dollars. He said community unity is a positive thing, but a developer would help. DiDonato lamented the lack of knowledge from one Board to the next. He said there should be proper methods for disseminating that knowledge, like a knowledge of the 2006 Economic Development Plan.
Laberge Pitch
Ben Syden worked on a Laberge project in Hoosick Falls years ago. He began his presentation Thursday by commending the Town and Village on the many positive changes he saw when he arrived in the area that evening. He commented, in particular, on the appearance of the Armory where the meeting was held. He noted there are sidewalks and streetlights and new businesses on Route 22 coming into the Village.
In his presentation he outlined a series of public roundtable discussions and workshops to solidify projects that could be eligible for grant funding. He pointed out that procedures for applying for grants from New York State have completely changed in recent years. He noted that the State is now made up of ten Regions, all competing against one another for State grant funding. The communities in Rensselaer County and the surrounding counties make up one of those Regions. Whatever the Town and Village puts together as a project must have the support of the County and the other counties in its Region. And it is even better if several of the towns/counties are looking for funding for the same project as community collaboration is key these days. He had handouts explaining the course of action to be taken and what Laberge could do for the Town and Village in implementing that action.
At the conclusion of the meeting Mayor Borge thanked Syden for his presentation, thanked everyone for coming and thanked HAYC3 for hosting the meeting. “We have heard a lot of great ideas and they are all things to think about. We have work to do, and we need to get more people involved,” he said. He suggested the Boards think about getting together twice a year on common issues.
Supervisor Surdam also thanked everyone for attending the meeting. “I’m excited,” Surdam said. “We can’t do it alone. The Village is part of the Town. We are a community, and we are just laying a foundation here.” Local realtor Ric Tinkham commented that it was the first time in all his years in the community he had seen the two Boards meet together and it was encouraging.
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