The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) is offering a new service to assist Adirondack Park municipalities with economic development strategies that would invigorate existing hamlet areas.
Strategies should seek to identify new business opportunities, revitalize existing community assets and, if feasible, establish connections to Forest Preserve resources.
APA recently completed a pilot project of the Hamlet Economic Planning and Assistance program (HEPA) in partnership with the Village of Northville and the Town of Northampton (Fulton County).
The HEPA initiative is a community-driven process to develop and implement economic improvement plans for Adirondack communities, providing more certainty for prospective businesses, said APA Chairwoman Leilani Ulrich.
“The pilot project in the Town of Northampton and the Village of Northville is an outstanding example of government working for the people. Based on this successful partnership, we will now offer this service to all Adirondack Park communities,” she said.
APA Economic Services and Planning staff worked with local agencies and the public to identify 20 priority development or redevelopment sites and over 118 implementation objectives, according to Ulrich.
The Northville/Northampton plan focused on improving public access between waterways and downtown, establishing sites for light manufacturing, and diversifying housing options for seniors and young professionals.
APA staff will now work with the communities to implement the actions identified in the plan.
The program builds certainly for prospective developers and a greater willingness to invest in Adirondack communities, according to Chairwoman Ulrich.
“Our goal with this program is to empower communities to perform economic development work. We believe these plans will be used by local governments and community stakeholders as a roadmap to a prosperous future,” she said.
HEPA plans should help communities identify development sites that will result in readily approved projects, Ulrich added.
The APA is anxious to assist additional hamlets in exploring economic improvements, said Terry Martino, the agency’s executive director.
“Our staff is activity soliciting other Adirondack communities to participate in this service. We have a goal of working with four communities a year to develop HEPA plans,” she said.
The process works as follows.
Through the HEPA initiative, the APA works closely with Adirondack communities to help them achieve their economic and quality-of-life goals.
APA staff facilitate a community-driven public input process to identify community development goals.
Staff assist with plan preparation, community visioning sessions and mapping services.
Once the economic strategy plan is complete, a local stakeholder workgroup with assistance from APA staff works to implement the plan.
APA launched the HEPA pilot initiative in 2014.
All of the Park’s 102 towns and villages are eligible to participate in this program.
The APA will work with communities on a first come/first serve basis and optimally would work on four community plans a year.
APA also provides technical services for existing and prospective businesses, local and regional economic developers, community planning and development organizations.
Services include market analysis, feasibility studies, project siting, permitting and assistance with industry recruitment and retention.
More information is available from Dan Kelleher, Special Assistant for Economic Affairs, at 518-891-4050.
