The Village of Potsdam Local Planning Committee (LPC and their state partners will host Public Engagement Event #3 for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI).

Online and storefront project galleries are now live for the public to review. The event will run from Aug. 28 through Sept. 4. Members of the public can review and comment on projects that are being considered for the village’s DRI through multiple platforms.

There are a variety of ways to engage with this process, both in person using social distancing measures and online. Interested members of the public can view an interactive Online Project Gallery by visiting the project website (www.PotsdamDRI.com). Proposed project information is also displayed on posters in downtown storefronts at Jernabi Coffeehouse, 11 Maple St., and the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce, 24 Market St., both in the Village of Potsdam. Hardcopies of information are available at Village Hall at 2 Park Street.

For live questions and feedback, there will be a virtual Question and Answer session on Wednesday, Sept. 2 starting at 6 p.m. via GoToWebinar. Anyone interested should register in advance by visiting the project website or by going directly to the event registration page at tinyurl.com/PotsdamDRI. Members of the public are also invited to leave written comments at the Village Office via comment cards.

In its fourth year, the DRI 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 selected as the North Country DRI community.

“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 are attending a variety of meetings at which they are 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 village said in a news release. “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 are being 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.PotsdamDRI.com.”

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