The Village of Potsdam, along with its state partners, is pleased to announce the first Public Open House for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is scheduled for Wednesday, January 22, 2020 from 6:00 pm – 8 :00 pm at the Town of Potsdam Community Room, 18 Elm Street, Potsdam, NY. A short presentation about the DRI program will be held at 6:15 and again at 7:00pm. The open house is an opportunity for the public to learn about the DRI and share ideas to improve quality of life, generate jobs and leverage private investment in the heart of the community.
The open house will include a variety of activity stations designed to inform the public about the DRI and to gather public input. Attendees will have the opportunity to speak with the consultant team and state partners. The open house will be the first of three public meetings throughout the DRI process. In addition to open houses, the consultant team will be conducting stakeholder group meetings and facilitating informal ‘ pop-up ‘ stations at various locations throughout downtown over the next month.
In addition to the public open house, the second meeting of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative Local Planning Committee (LPC) is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at the Village Civic Center Community Room, 2 Park Street, 3rd Floor, Potsdam, NY. The LPC meeting will be held from 6:00- 8:00 pm, with an opportunity for public comment at the end of the meeting.
The DRI is transforming downtown neighborhoods into vibrant communities. In its fourth year, the program will invest $100 million into 10 additional downtown neighborhoods across the state . Participating communities are nominated by the state’s ten Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs) based on the downtown’s potential for transformation, and each community is awarded $10 million to develop a downtown strategic investment plan and implement key catalytic projects that advance the community’s vision for revitalization. The Village of Potsdam was recently selected as the North Country DRI community.
The DRI is a comprehensive approach to boosting local economies by transforming communities into vibrant neighborhoods that offer a high quality of life for all residents. Each community selected to participate in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) will accomplish its goals through a unique state-local partnership that includes a Local Planning Committee (LPC), a consultant team, and state agency staff. With support from municipal staff and input from the public, this partnership will result in a strategic investment plan that will achieve the vision and goals for revitalization of the downtown.
The Local Planning Committee (LPC) is made up of local and regional leaders, stakeholders, and community representatives. LPC members will attend a variety of meetings at which they will be asked to brainstorm ideas, provide direction to consultants, review planning products, and prioritize actions . Mayor Reinhold Tischler and Kristin Esterberg, President of the State University of New York at Potsdam, are the Potsdam LPC co-chairs.
The Consultant Team selected to assist in developing the DRI strategic investment plan is being led by M.J. Engineering and Land Surveying, P.C. (MJ) of Clifton Park and includes Environmental Design & Research, Landscape Architecture, Engineering & Environmental Services, D. P.C., CLA SITE Landscape Architecture, Engineering & Planning, PC, Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson, E.M. Pemrick and Company, and Captain Consultants, LLC.
Public engagement is a key component of the DRI planning process and fundamental to the success of the DRI. The objective of public engagement is to ensure that all stakeholders have ample opportunity to know and understand the DRI process and its intended outcomes; to comment on the study as it progresses; to express their concerns and contribute ideas; and to participate in building a consensus about the vision for the Downtown and other outcomes, culminating in a locally supported DRI Strategic Investment Plan. Public workshops and engagement activities will be scheduled throughout the effort to allow opportunity for public input. More information about the DRI can be Found at www.ny.gov/dri and www.PotsdamDRl.com.
