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[This
remains a proposed plan until the Town Board approves it]
Nothing
lies completely within the Town's control.
The
county and the state control our major roadways. New York City and
NYS own
major
parcels
of vacant land. The
Esopus flows through several towns. The rail trails will continue
to expand into dozens of communities and hundreds of miles. Many
senior services require a population base larger than Hurley's.
Successful
projects build on the interests, concerns and expertise of the many – residents,
landowners, businesses, professionals, special interest groups, and
town employees and department heads. But often the structure
and process of local government fosters adversarial rather than collaborative
relationships.
Often
we're tempted to say, "It's [fill-in-the-blank's] responsibility." But
it falls to the Town Board to see that Hurley's interests are addressed.
That means assuming a leadership role and coordinating among the various
agencies and interest groups.
We
can best accomplish our goals by coordinating with others. That coordination takes many forms – joint planning, consultation, coalition building, mediation and lobbying to name a few.
It
means consciously identifying and inviting the full range of stakeholders
to participate. It means employing alternatives to ‘public hearings’ like workshops and study circles. And it means utilizing a variety of communication media to inform and invite participation.
Often
this means joining with other towns that share the same issues.
It
may also mean that public agencies may need to flex their
schedules to meet in the evening and on weekends when community
volunteers are most often available.
Many
of the Plan's recommendations require coordination
and collaboration. They include two new standing committees
-- Traffic & Transportation and Senior Services Advisory Committees
-- and a call for additional volunteers to participate in a variety
of ways.
This
chart
captures
some of the
currently existing
efforts
to
coordinate and
incorporates
the
new
entities (bordered with dotted lines) that
we believe
will
facilitate
coordination.
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