By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- Mayor Tim Currier wants to move away from relying on the Business Development Corporation as a primary economic development vehicle and toward what he calls a “community …
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By ANDY GARDNER
MASSENA -- Mayor Tim Currier wants to move away from relying on the Business Development Corporation as a primary economic development vehicle and toward what he calls a “community development” approach.
“Economic development needs to be done regionally. It can’t be done on a local level. For years, we have asked the BDC to do a job without resources to be successful,” Currier said.
His proposed 2016-2017 budget includes no funding for the BDC, but does have a $25,000 “for planning purposes,” Currier said, which could be used for the organization.
He said he wants local efforts to be centered around attracting people to the Massena and giving them a reason to stay, while at the same time collaborating with other communities and groups, such as the Regional Economic Development Council and the Development Authority of the North Country, to bring new jobs to the area.
“Community development is a bottom-up approach, it’s grassroots,” Currier said. “It’s getting people in here and staying because there’s things to do.”
He said that could include continued use of their grant-writer, which he said sparked two ongoing “highly successful” projects. He pointed to the high-speed internet that is anticipated to be installed throughout downtown in the near future and a waterfront park project on Water Street.
“They’re not just writing grants. They’re working on strategic planning,” Currier said.
In addition, he expects a group he formed last year called the Moving Massena Forward Coalition to make recommendations on May 4 on specific areas in which the village needs work.
His budget presentation didn’t go into specifics, but broadly said that includes marketing, recruitment, anti-blight, historic preservation and re-opening the downtown theater.