Ticonderoga considers forming economic development committee

TICONDEROGA | The Ticonderoga Town Board began discussions toward creating an economic development committee during its March 11 meeting, while moving to consolidate its planning and zoning committees for a lack of volunteer board members. It has become increasingly difficult to find citizen representatives to fill out the planning and zoning boards, said Town Attorney Matt Fuller. And since legal responsibilities can be met with one board, consolidation might be the best course. An Economic Development Committee, meanwhile, is likely to have more takers. The town has been criticized for lack of one, although Supervisor Joe Giordano said the town "is still pursuing economic development activities" such as major utility projects and rules allowing for solar farms. The town also has several groups focused on economic development, including the Chamber of Commerce, PRIDE, Ti Alliance, and the Montcalm Street Partnership. "We have some very active organizations, and we should look to aligning those resources for the best benefit to the town," said Board Member Mark Russell. Despite the number of economic groups, Board Member Joyce Cooper said public sentiment seems to be on the side of creating one officially sanctioned by the town. "Members of the public sound like that's a committee they would like to see become active," she said. All board members who spoke supported the idea of an economic development committee — what disagreement there was centered on whether the role of the committee should be defined before it was established. Board Member Tom Cunningham said "I think it's time to found an economic development committee so we can start moving it forward." The committee would help to steer other long-term progress the town has in the works including upgrade of its facilities and other new infrastructure. Giordano said he supported the committee, but that its role should be defined first to "figure out how it's going to operate differently" from other economic development groups. "There are a lot of moving parts in Ticonderoga right now," he said. "It would be nice to follow a plan so it fits in with the rest of the downtown."

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Ticonderoga considers forming economic development committee

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