CANTON – The Village of Canton and its NY Forward Local Planning Committee (LPC), invite community members, business owners, and other stakeholders to participate in a Public Open House and Coffee with the Consultants.
Public engagement is an essential part of the NY Forward process that helps shape the transformation of downtown Canton.
The public open house is scheduled for Thursday, May 30, from 6 to 8 p.m in the Canton Justice Court Room, 60 Main Street. The open house is an interactive engagement session that allows all attending community members and visitors to provide input to help the LPC formulate a final vision statement and a set of goals for the NY Forward process in Canton. Community members of all ages are encouraged to join and participate.
The following day, Friday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to noon, will be Coffee with the Consultants, where the consultant team can answer questions from community members and potential project sponsors. Coffee with the Consultants will also be held in the Canton Justice Court Room, 60 Main St.
For more information about the NY Forward process and regular updates, please visit CantonNYForward.com.
NY Forward is a central component of the State's economic development efforts, working together with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), to accelerate and expand the revitalization of New York's downtowns. NY Forward serves smaller communities with historic character that distinguishes them from the larger, more urban central business districts typically funded through DRI. NY Forward communities are walkable, less dense areas that serve the immediate local community, and are more local in nature - focusing on the immediately surrounding residential or rural agricultural centric development. Governor Kathy Hochul has committed $100 million for the second round of the NY Forward program. Each of the State’s ten Regional Economic Development Councils (REDCs) recommended two communities for NY Forward awards. In the North Country Region, Canton and Alexandria Bay were each the recipients of $4.5 million.
NY Forward is led by the Department of State, in close partnership with Empire State Development, NYS Homes and Community Renewal and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
The Local Planning Committee (LPC) includes local and regional leaders, stakeholders, and community representatives. LPC members will attend a variety of meetings at which they will be asked to brainstorm ideas, provide direction to consultants, review planning products, and prioritize actions. Village Mayor Michael Dalton and Kathryn Morris, President of St. Lawrence University and Co-Chair of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, are the Canton LPC Co-Chairs.
Public engagement is a key component of the NY Forward planning process and fundamental to the success of NY Forward. The objective of public engagement is to ensure that all stakeholders have ample opportunity to be informed about the NY Forward process and its intended outcomes; to comment on the process 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 NY Forward Strategic Investment Plan. Public workshops and engagement activities will be scheduled throughout the effort to allow opportunity for public input. More information about NY Forward can be found at htps://www.ny.gov/programs/ny-forward.
