NEWFANE — Selectboard member Gloria Cristelli says the work of a new committee in the businesses community, looking to develop strategies for village centers here, is on track to present its request for town recognition.
Introducing the Selectboard on Dec. 5 to several of the names they'd be hearing as this work progresses, Cristelli said Newfane ANEW, which she supports, is working with Cullen Meves of the Windham Regional Commission on mapping and other legwork to position town villages to apply for needed grant money.
“It's an enthusiastic group of people, and what we'd like to have from the Board is some kind of status with us, with the town, that we are this committee, particularly because we are moving along with village designation; we need to designate the three village centers, which will in the end be able to net the potential of monies to develop the village centers,” Cristelli said.
Point people on Newfane ANEW, she said, are Christine Triebert for South Newfane, Glenn Richardson “or maybe Dylan Richardson” for Williamsville, and Bob McCandless for the Village of Newfane.
The group is to present its proposal at the next Selectboard meeting, Jan. 2, 2014. Residents will have a chance to weigh in as well.
Cristelli explained that, according to WRC executive director Chris Campany, the designations would be good for all of Newfane: “It gives us a very compact village center, and because of that, historical buildings as well as businesses can [apply for] certain grants up to $25,000” for, say, new facades.
“We would not be able to get the grants without the designation,” Cristelli said.
To Selectboard member Chris Druke, who asked whether the designation would have any other effect on residents or businesses, including changes to the town plan, ordinances, or what property owners can and can not do, Cristelli said “it doesn't change anything like that. It's just really availability of monies.”
She added that the luminarias on the Common are a project of Newfane ANEW.