Ideas from other towns could aid revitalization

Inspired by the successes of other Vermont downtowns, Springfield is going to steal some good ideas for the town’s new strategic plan.

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HOME NEWS OBITUARIES BUSINESS SPORTS A&E/INVITE OPINION FEATURES BLOGS LAND CARS CLASSIFIEDS General Information About Us Contact Us Subscriber Services Newsroom Information Advertising Classifieds This Just In Ideas from other towns could aid revitalization By SUSAN SMALLHEER Staff Writer | November 17,2016 SPRINGFIELD — Inspired by the successes of other Vermont downtowns, Springfield is going to steal some good ideas for the town’s new strategic plan. Selectman Walter Martone said Monday that the town’s three-person visitation committee had come back with good ideas that could help Springfield in its effort to revitalize its downtown. In particular, Martone praised the recent work in Barre, St. Albans and Vergennes. He recommended that Springfield pursue enabling legislation to permit tax incremental financing, or TIF, for Springfield, and said the town needed specialized consultants to help with the effort. He said the committee, which was made up of Selectman Peter MacGillivray and Town Manager Tom Yennerell, as well as himself, also would be recommending hiring a full-time community development/code enforcement person to carry out many of the recommendations of the committee’s report. Martone said the town needed to work with its non-government partners to create what he called a professional marketing campaign to recruit businesses, investors, and developers, as well as getting state and federal governmental agencies and “other important entities” to join the town in its recovery efforts. Marton, MacGillivray and Yennerell have been visiting various downtowns in Vermont this summer and fall, looking for success stories and tips. Marton said the group was particularly impressed with Barre and St. Albans, both small cities that had really accomplished a lot in the past five years. In those cities, he said officials had been able to muster and attract substantial investment in the downtowns. “We must be prepared to invest in our recovery with increased funding for organizations and projects that partner with us to make important improvements in the community,” the committee’s report stated. Martone, who moved to Vermont from California nine years ago, said he first stayed in Barre as he looked for a place to settle. Since then, he said, the city has truly transformed its downtown, and he cited in particular the public art that can be found all over Barre. The Springfield Select Board directed Marton and MacGillivray to incorporate the findings of its report into the town’s new strategic plan, with the goal of including some of the recommendations in the 2017-18 town budget. Martone said that in every case, the towns were smaller in population than Springfield, which is home to about 9,300 people. But, Martone said, all the towns visited “just gave the feel of being much bigger” than Springfield. Several people cited last week’s presentation by the town’s downtown consultant as making good suggestions. Resident Walter Clark urged the board to pick one project and work toward its success. “The town needs a win now,” said Clark, who said that the presentation by Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., had been encouraging. “Just pick something, now. You got to try and get a win. Otherwise we’re just going down the river with the flow,” said Clark. susan.smallheer