NORWICH – Mayor Joseph Maiurano attended a joint meeting of the City Planning Commission and Zoning Board Monday to discuss accomplishments the city has made over the past year, and where the city is headed in 2009.
“This is a time when we need to be proactive and start taking action,” Maiurano said. “There are a lot of things to do, and we need to have more people involved.”
Monday night’s discussion was centered around the city’s Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted in December of 2003. The Comprehensive Plan outlined goals and visions for the future of Norwich. “Periodically, it makes sense for the city to revisit the goal of a Comprehensive Plan,” Maiurano said, turning the floor over to City Planning and Community Development Specialist Todd Dreyer.
Dreyer presented a Power Point presentation, compiled with the help of Norwich High School Student Julie Simcoe as part of a work study program.
Dreyer explained the committee that created the Comprehensive Plan established a vision statement for the city and used the statement to establish seven goals for the city. “Norwich will standout for its physical and civic character, distinguished by its high level of citizen stewardship and leadership. Its generous volunteerism will support efforts to make it a vibrant community of choice that acts progressively to attract and retain both residents and businesses,” the vision statement reads.
To accomplish that mission statement, the Comprehensive Plan lists seven goals, and according to Dreyer, the city has made accomplishments in each of those areas in the past year.
Accomplishments for the year, included instituting a new computer system that will be of use to the police and fire departments once it becomes operational, updating the zoning maps, updating the city web site and hosting municipal shared service meetings. Those accomplishments fall under the first goal of the plan, to promote efficient and progressive municipal services.
In areas such as fostering a diverse economy and creating a vibrant downtown, Dreyer listed accomplishments including the cooperation of Frontier Communications in setting up a wireless Internet system in the city and the success of the Main Street Grant Program and the city’s retail business development loan system.
Some of the other accomplishments for the year included
• Receiving a low interest loan for the purchase of a new pumper truck.
• Labor contract negotiations.
• Efforts to attract new businesses to the Proctor and Gamble site.
• The first stage of the Brownfield Opportunity Areas Study.
• Continued work with the BID, Merchants’ Association and Commerce Chenango.
• The continuation of the sidewalk program.
• The license agreement with the Chenango Greenway Conservancy.
• The Rental Rehab Program.
• The demolition of properties for the Restore New York Grant.
• And the support of numerous cultural events that take place downtown.
“I hope this shows that the city has been busy and that plans for the future of Norwich show it is a nice place to live,” Dreyer said. Plans for 2009 include continuing efforts on many of the projects the city is currently undertaking. Maiurano said the city will continue to work for an upgrade to the Route 12 corridor and to see the NYS&W rail line reopened to support businesses in the area.
The mayor said he hopes people will look at the good that is in the city. “If we focus on the good, we can build on that good and be able to move forward,” Maiurano said. He explained with cooperation and shared services, Norwich can be an example for the rest of the nation. “This area can be an example of how we need to be living in the 20th century instead of living in the 19th century like we have been,” Maiurano said.