Amenia EDC eyes goals, including becoming a visitor ‘destination’

AMENIA — Having agreed upon goals at previous meetings in January and February, the Economic Development Committee set about discussion of early steps toward making progress at its meeting on Monday, April 21.

Envisioning the town becoming a destination for visitors, committee chairman Ken Topolsky saw a need for coordination among other town committees sharing the same or similar goals. He described that coordination as key to progress.

“What can the town offer and where would the town put it,” was an early discussion question asked by Topolsky, adding that the committee is not ready for implementation of plans but rather to envision the type of thing that could be possible.

Goals identified at the previous meeting in early February included parking, a farmers’ market and a cell tower to expand phone service.

“We need to look at how to publicize features, particularly outdoor attractions,” Topolsky said.

Discussion turned to the work of the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee, summarized by that committee’s chairman, Bill Flood. He reported that a town-wide public input session is scheduled for Monday, June 9, at the Town Hall, coordinated by the Pace University Land Use Law Center’s collaborative consultants, Nexus Creative Design.

Town Board liaison Rosanna Hamm commented that the initial presentation by the consultants at a recent meeting of the Town Board demonstrated a good amount of energy toward completing the task.

Topolsky praised a recent meeting of town committee chairpersons who shared their views of town goals relative to the work of their committees. He noted that each committee seems to be focused on the same community issues, citing parking, housing and wastewater solutions.

The work of the Economic Development Committee, Topolsky said, might be to create a structure that will provide guidance to developers, helping them navigate through various community, county and state requirements.

Committee member Damian Gutierrez agreed that it is best if multiple committees work as a group and approach the Town Board with resulting thoughts.

“We don’t need to restrict ourselves,” Gutierrez said, however, cautioning against an anticipatory approach that would be overly deferential to other committees.

Seeking consistency of structure, committee member Tom Buttacavoli said that once there is a vision, then the lines of communication among committees would activate.

Gutierrez suggested that the Town Board should create clear guidelines for each involved town committee to define or clarify the scope of responsibility for each. He also saw value in inviting local business leaders to Economic Development Committee meetings to hear from them about their experience and current challenges needing attention.