Due to the snow storm and snow removal there will be no parking on Main Street Until Further NoticeIt seems appropriate that this year’s summer arts installation was called Voices/Voces. Over the past six months the Village’s Comprehensive Plan Committee has been holding multiple meetings as a way to reach out and to hear the thoughts, in essence the voices, of the many unique groups that form the tapestry of our Village.
With the guidance of Peter Fairweather of Fairweather Consultants, the outreach began with surveys sent to every Village resident. One of the Committee members, Tom McKnight worked with his wife Nicole Sisco, a Warwick Middle School Art Teacher, who did a video of artwork by students and their vision of our community. The High School Media Arts Program taught by Dan Cecconie did an informational short on the project as well.
Due to COVID and health precautions, the committees outreach took many forms: oversized posters asking specific questions about planning and the village experience were placed in the library as well as a stint at the Farmer’s Market. Folks were asked to write their responses directly on the boards. Meetings both Zoom and in person (sometimes both) were set up with all the Village Boards including the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Architectural Review Board, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, the Historical Society, the Downtown Merchants. Civic Groups including the Rotary and Lions, the POWER Coalition representing the Black Indigenous People of Color, the Hispanic Community and the Arts Community. There was also a public meeting on Transportation/Parking organized by the Alta Planning Group who specialize in that field.
A summer of gathering information and listening to many voices. We live in an extraordinary Village and this exercise has clearly demonstrated a level of civic involvement and pride. Warwick has always been a place where historically its residents have had a say in the shaping of our community. The beautiful buildings, active and passive parks, our tree lined streets and safe neighborhoods are not by happenstance; it has been through thoughtful, careful planning by generations of leaders, planners and residents. If you have not participated in the online survey, please take a few minutes to fill it out https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WarwickSurvey. If you have other comments, please go to https://warwickplan.com/. The information that has been gathered is beginning to be compiled to form the new Comprehensive Master Plan – a document that will define our vision and give us a map to our future.
The next Village Board meeting will take place on Monday, October 18, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. and will be held through Zoom videoconference and may be viewed live by the public on the Village of Warwick, NY YouTube Channel.
