Library shifts to individual talks as Community Conversation series ends

MILLERTON — During the course of six Community Conversations, the NorthEast-Millerton Library was able to gauge residents’ thoughts, concerns and ideas about the community they live in and the one they want to see it become by hosting the series of talks both in-person and online. 

Now that its Community Conversation series has come to an end, the library will be looking to organize one-on-one conversations with residents and compile its findings into a report that will be presented to the community later this year.

The first Community Conversation was held on May 18 while the sixth and last Community Conversation was held on Monday, June 14. Both conversations were held via Zoom. 

Inviting attendees to keep an open mind, NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson launched the conversation’s open-ended questions by asking what residents would like to see from their ideal community.

As they each took a turn in answering the questions, community members were invited to introduce themselves and state what their ties to Millerton are, whether they identified as residents (new or existing), employees, visitors or otherwise. 

Their answers to the first question focused on the perceived disparity between the weekend crowd and the weekday crowd — the old “locals versus newcomers” debate — and wanting to see ways the crowds can collaborate more fully; the revitalization of Eddie Collins Memorial Park to create a welcoming place for everyone; having the local Webutuck Central School District step up and insert itself more fully in the community; and diversity among the community, which soon became a recurring topic brought up throughout the dialogue and subsequent questions.

When asked by Leo-Jameson what was missing in the community, affordable housing was brought up as a prevalent issue as well as the absence of a grocery store in what’s now become described as a “food desert,” as well as inclusivity at all levels. 

Participants were also asked to consider what is stopping the progress they hoped to see in the village and town. Keeping all these issues in mind, Leo-Jameson asked participants how these issues have affected them personally and encouraged them to share their stories.

Considering the outcome of the series, Leo-Jameson said the library is “very happy with the amount of interest and participation in the Community Conversations.” 

For the six individual conversations, she said they had about 65 to 70 participants cumulatively, “which greatly exceeded our expectations.” 

The library’s next step will be offering one-on-one conversations with anyone who was unable to make the previous dates. Anyone interested in engaging in a one-on-one conversation is invited to reach out to the library, either via phone at 518-789-3340 or via email at info@nemillertonlibrary.org.

As the library plans to hold the individual conversations until August, Leo-Jameson said they’d love to be able to talk to more people in their 20s and teens. Once all of the conversations are completed, she said the library will start sorting through notes taken to find the trends and common ideas that came up. As of this time, the library plans to have a report for the community around October or November.