Tuesday, March 6, 2018

DRI Watch: It's Now Out of Our Hands

People have criticized the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) process, from application through planning, for its lack of transparency, but nothing in the process so far has been as opaque as its end--its end so far as the involvement of Hudson residents is concerned.
Last Thursday, members of the Local Planning Committee were supposed to vote yes or no on adopting the slate of projects to be proposed to the Department of State. That vote, which would have taken place at a meeting where the public and the press were present, didn't happen. Instead, it was decided that each member of the LPC would submit his or her vote by Monday, March 5. Meanwhile, over the weekend, there was a groundswell of protest about the inclusion of projects proposed by Galvan Initiatives Foundation.

 On Thursday, after the meeting, I asked Steve Kearney from Stantec if I, The Gossips of Rivertown, could be informed of the outcome of the vote on Monday. He seemed to indicate that I could and would. Yesterday, I sent an email to Kearney and Sheena Salvino, asking if there was any news of the outcome. This morning, Kearney emailed me saying he would be "back in touch after our coordination call at 11 a.m.," and he thanked me for "checking in." This afternoon, shortly after 3 p.m., I received an email from Kearney informing me that the Department of State had requested that all "press inquiries" be sent to them. So, at 3:48 p.m., I emailed my request to the DOS press office for the information that should have been available at the meeting last Thursday: Did the LPC adopt the slate of projects that came out of the February 16 meeting of the Project Development Subcommittee or didn't it? So far, there's been no response.
COPYRIGHT 2018 CAROLE OSTERINK
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4 comments:

  1. unheimlichMarch 6, 2018 at 6:39 PM

    That "groundswell of protest" actually began soon after we were first learned of Galvan's DRI proposals on January 26.

    Less than two weeks later, the third and final DRI "Public Meeting" was held. Unlike the first two, however, this last meeting closed with no public participation.

    These were the circumstances which caused a delay in the eventual groundswell of protest. Because the next meeting of the LPC was its last meeting, things fell apart when residents had their first public opportunity to speak out about their concerns.

    This was very badly managed, and as usual in Hudson the public was cheated of its rightful participation.

    Consulting the State DRI FAQ page, there's no category of meeting described which could characterize the so-called "Public Meeting" of February 8.

    We wuz robbed!

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  2. VincentMarch 6, 2018 at 8:31 PM

    "Hudson is a High School built over a mouth of evil."

    anon

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  3. Ed StolerMarch 6, 2018 at 9:34 PM

    What is wrong with our mayor ? What is wrong with our politicians ? Are we not represented by those who are meant to protect, and better the lives of the citizens of Hudson? Oh foolish me , what was I thinking.Did I REALY believe these people care about Hudson? Do they care about the citizens? I guess they only care about themselves and what they can get out from the city of Hudson , so they can line there pockets or there ego.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Peter MeyerMarch 8, 2018 at 4:34 PM

    I would disagree with your headline, Carole. I'm not sure it was ever in "our" hands.

    ReplyDelete

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