REVITALIZATION COMMITTEE  NOTES

October 27, 2005

 

In attendance:  Steve Godlewski, Rob Fountain, Connie Bremer, Lori Deyoe, Bryan Deyoe, Michelle Trumbull, Dyana Allen, Sue Pulitzer.  (P.K and Randy had a Town Board meeting.)

  Michelle, Rob and Sharron did a great job of getting the surveys out last week. Some have been returned,  many have been taken. . The deadline for the surveys is Oct. 31st but we’ll continue to review any that might come in later.

  Sue made an error in the Press Release, mentioning that this was a “Town of Jay ” survey. We will have to be very careful to be inclusive of the Town of Black Brook in the future.

  Bryan reported that his Tree Committee is planning to erect a Community Christmas Tree with 1000 lights by the Clock. Bows will be available for purchase ($10 for individuals and $20  for businesses . The business bows will be longer and will be placed on the garland on the railing.) A separate fund has been established under the Clock Project for this and it’s hoped that schools and organizations as well as individuals will get behind it. The tree will be lit at 6:00 PM on Dec. 3rd. The next meeting regarding this project will be held at the Wobbly Moose on Wed., Nov.2nd and all are welcome to attend.

 

  The laminated boards provided by B&L are excellent but unfortunately will not fit the Hollywood locale. However, it was decided to have them travel to various strategic locations in the next couple of weeks—which ultimately might be a better way to utilize them.. Bryan will bring them to the Hometown Deli for a few days. From there they will make their way to the Pharmacy, Aubuchon’s, the Wobbly Moose and perhaps other places that might have potential to stir up some interest and prod people to fill out the surveys.

  Several topics were addressed in our continuing discussion of strengths and weaknesses.

 

·        With Lake Placid real estate becoming so unaffordable, it is possible that we may see some spinoff coming this way. (For example, the Highland Farm property is going to be developed.) Perhaps we might consider building moderately priced townhouses in this area.

·        Michelle and Dyana  had some encouraging news on the Real Estate front. It appears that there is a renewed interest in our area from young couples who, wishing to flee urban sprawl  find the slower pace of our town desirable and are looking at available properties to renovate.

·        This underscores  the necessity of controlling the type of growth we allow. We do not want to encourage growth that will adversely impact taxes and the small town character of our village so that we inadvertently create the type of villages that these folks wanted to escape in the first place. Even when it comes to things like eateries, we want to encourage healthy lifestyle options (nix on McDonald’s type fast food establishments.) 

·        It is the recommendation of this committee to the  Town Board that the Town of Jay should give serious consideration to the formation of a Zoning Board and the creation of Zoning ordinances so that we will be able to control our hamlet as we see fit.  It was noted that the Town of Black Brook has had zoning in place for over 20 years and it has worked well. It was felt that a Joint Committee with representation from both Townships would ! be the ideal way to approach future planning. It was also suggested that perhaps the Town of Black Brook could share their experience in this endeavor with the Town of Jay .

We took some time to informally  review the surveys received thus far. Although we decided not to do a formal tally at this point, it seems that we are on the right track. Some of the comments generated by and as a result of those surveys were as follows:

 

  1. The dangerous intersection with the flashing light is a common concern.  Nearly everyone has had several “near death” experiences there. Which supports our desire to have some sort of small island there. Dyana will consult with Greg Atkins regarding the feasibility of such an island in terms of snow plows and heavy equipment.
  1. There is a huge need for an upgraded, full service supermarket with a Deli.
  1. A new apartment building complex might be the answer to our aging housing stock.
  1. Senior Citizen housing is needed. Requirement would be that it be within walking distance of downtown.
  1. A high quality restaurant would be a huge asset. We discussed several such establishments in the area and what makes them successful. For example, the Wilderness in Wilmington . Basically it boils down to consistently good food, consistently good service and ambiance (it really helps to have a unique building or location.). For example, the Mansion would be an ideal location.
  1. Michelle mentioned that she discovered that no one in Au Sable Forks is a member of the Whiteface Mt. Regional Visitors Bureau. Steve had never heard of it and it appears that such membership in Au Sable has not been actively sought by the Bureau.  Michelle said that she will ask that our businesses be invited to join and will urge the folks in Wilmington to recognize the opportunities to be allied with businesses on “this side of the mountain.”
  1. The topic of the Mill property came under consideration.  The fact that it would require millions to clean up the hazardous materials there seems to stop any consideration of using that land. But it is 17 acres with 2000 feet of prime riverfront property—not to mention its historical significance-- and we feel that more effort needs to be made to see what kinds of incentives might be offered to a developer to take a look at this gem. (Perhaps a joint effort with the Town of Black Brook to assist with the cleanup?)
  1. We tried to target  what essential businesses would make people stop on their journey from Point A to Point B. Essentially, four :  Restaurants( and restrooms) ), Liquor Store,  Pharmacy and Hardware. We consider it a strength that we currently have all four—although a nice reasonably priced Deli Sandwich Shop would be a good addition
  1. We talked about the benefits of having a “gimmick”—such as in Bennington , Vt. where they sponsor year long contests to decorate moose (what is plural of moose….mooses???), cows,   and in Placid where they decorate Adirondack chairs, etc.  This sparked a discussion of our YELLOW BRICK ROAD .  And rainbows….. and rainbow trout…and pots of gold ….. And…….how can we tie all this stuff together.

For example:

It would definitely be VERY clever to uncover at least some of the old yellow bricks (or possible even get new ones in memory of our old street) and either use them in a crosswalk or install them someplace scenic so that people could stop and have their picture taken on the “ Yellow Brick Road .”

  1. Bryan had some samples of some signage that he shared with the group. We all

particularly liked the “Wayfinding signs”—something simple, and easy to read that actually directs you to where things are with arrows.

 

Important:    PK gave us a letter from Betty Little informing us of an grant opportunity from the New York State Quality Communities Program. We did not have time to review this but at first glance it looks like it is a custom-fit for some of the things we are trying to do. Sue will forward this to Sharron and Al Hipps for their review and if anyone would like a copy prior to the next meeting, please see Sharron at the Community Center.

 

  NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD – 6:30 pm