Meeting Reminder
This afternoon, the Tourism Board will meet at 5:00 p.m. The only information so far available about the agenda for the meeting is that city attorney Cheryl Roberts will be offering "advisement . . . in regards to the proper use of funds going forward." There was some indication that the meeting would be a Zoom conference, but no information about accessing the meeting had been forthcoming.
This morning, the City of Hudson website provided this information about the meeting:
The Tourism Board meeting will take place at 5PM and will be available at the city's live-stream on WGXCfm 90.17. Because of the extensive business to be discussed no live public participation will be invited.
Comments can be texted to 914-584-5373, or sent to councilpres@cityofhudson.org.
COPYRIGHT 2020 CAROLE OSTERINK
I agreed with DePietro that the city shouldn't give out money to businesses until I saw the announcement from 2 Note and learned the SBA money had dried up. I still agree with him that there are optics issues; Hudson city government doesn't have enough public trust to dole this money out in a way that will seem fair; patronage is all-too common in this city.
ReplyDeleteDo we give to the businesses most likely to shut their doors and therefore most in need of help significant grants/loans? If they fail, we cannot recoup those funds.Do we ignore those most in need and stabilize businesses in less distress in an effort to triage the industry? How will this be determined? We could give fixed grant amounts to every business but tourist revenue will be slow this summer and we risk draining our coffers and leaving ourselves unable to market Hudson effectively when things return to (the new) normal.
Rebuilding our tourist economy is a long-term effort that will likely involve significant investment. Giving money to businesses now (that, unfortunately, may or may not survive anyway) may be spending capital in the short-term that could be better utilized for a long-term strategy. I do not want one Hudson business to shut down as a result of this pandemic, but economically we are going to be dealing this for a long, long time. Hard choices lie ahead.
The State Constitution bars municipalities from giving or loaning money to third-parties.
DeleteIn the bit of the tourism board meeting that I listened to, until the phone rang, the comment that really struck home to me is that Hudson needs to figure out how to make itself a more engaging and interesting place to recreate, rather than hawking itself with sales and marketing and branding that might well prove embarrassingly infra dig - annoying and tasteless puffery as to which in all events I have a strong intuition would be largely unproductive and a waste of money, and too "slick" by half to boot.
ReplyDeleteCausing Hudson to become a more compelling place to visit, to me that means the community thinking of how to create events and activities spaced over time that visitors will find appealing. Interesting lectures, nature walks in the north bay, bird watching tours, merchants banding together to create happenings spaced over time, and so forth might be helpful. I also think Hudson should have a Hudson River/water themed museum but I digress. The story of John Jervis, the NYC system of reservoirs, the geology of the Hudson Valley and the spectacular way the Hudson River slashes through the Appalachian Mountains at Westpoint, and the interplay of water and commerce, the GE poisoning of the water, and so forth. I loved aquatic themed museums as a kid with interactive exhibits and so forth. The story of the topography of Hudson is also interesting, and how the plateau jutting out to the river between the two bays defined Hudson's perimeter and caused it to have today its compact charm in its grid section between Robinson and Allen, and from Front to 8th streets. The two cities on the Hudson that I love the most, Hoboken (the most beautiful city in America, and I will explain why on my Facebook page because it embraces and exemplifies the six rules that make for an attractive city with amazing and fortuitous fidelity), and Hudson NY, owe much of their charm to their most fortuitous topography.
Finally, Hudson at least on a modest scale, needs some sort of convention facility or facilities, so more business or trade oriented groups might come to Hudson during the week to meet up, while also enjoying some of Hudson's amenities.