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Wayne Feiden: Okay, it's 532. I'm going to start getting here.
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Wayne Feiden: Beeps because Carolyn's going to be admitting people as they come late
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Wayne Feiden: I'm going to start by muting everybody
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Wayne Feiden: But you're allowed to unmute yourself. So I have a you know 1520 minute presentation and then the rest of time is all your time. So, if you don't mind.
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Wayne Feiden: Keep yourself muted until I'm done. And then I'm be asked you to raise hands to make comments as we go forward.
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Wayne Feiden: So just some quick background. And you can see this in some of the slides, but so we're deal. We're focused on
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Wayne Feiden: Asking for recommendations for physical improvements to Main Street and Florence.
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Wayne Feiden: The mayor gave us $100,000 with city council approval to make improvements to the streetscape in Florence, I'll give you a little more background on the second
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Wayne Feiden: We've spent 20,000 that on survey. So we're mostly talking today about asking for recommendations for how we spend $80,000
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Wayne Feiden: The focus is on Main Street. So we're not looking for other places in Florence, unless it's directly related
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Wayne Feiden: So, Florida. For example, one point talked about a way finding program, you know, if we if the way finding ways to get to Main Street. You want to include a sign in a bike
path.
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Wayne Feiden: That would be eligible. So it's mostly we're looking at Main Street or things that are directly related to me. So I'm going to give you some background.
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Wayne Feiden: There is a separate process and many of you participate in a process we are working on a rezoning for Florence, we've had
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Wayne Feiden: To physical bricks and mortar forums. We've had one or two virtual forums about rezoning Florence, that process is moving forward. And that's not we're talking about today.
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Wayne Feiden: Certain with inside questions at the end of the meeting. We're happy to take them. But that's not what this process is about
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Wayne Feiden: Just the sniper process.
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Wayne Feiden: But certainly the rezoning process informs the conversation we're having today so zoning is basically that private use of private property.
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Wayne Feiden: We've always required if it's a brand new building that the private parties have to rebuild the infrastructure in the sidewalk right in front of their property right. So,
you know, brand new building gets built
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Wayne Feiden: Cumberland farms, they have to do the sidewalks, if they're in bad shape. They have to the street trees. They have to do crosswalks that they're bad shape so
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Wayne Feiden: That's what the realm of zoning that we are looking at the lessons we learned in the previous public forums as to what people told us were important.
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Wayne Feiden: And those are potentially things that we reflect on it, how we spend our money. So again, zoning is a separate process, but we're learning from. So there was a lot of public
process again. Many of you took part in the process.
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Wayne Feiden: It most of it was about this owning but in the process. We also gave various max and on the maps. We asked you to tell us what's your vision. What do you want, Florence
to be in the future.
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Wayne Feiden: And that's the information we sort of mind from the back process. So let me go back and talk about this hundred thousand dollars of funding that we have
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Wayne Feiden: The original concept of this funding was the hundred thousand dollars was for design.
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Wayne Feiden: And then we would go in and we wouldn't have money for construction and we would chase grass right it's a rough rule of thumb, you know, if design is 10% of construction
that would mean
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Wayne Feiden: $100,000 would give us the design for a million dollars and improvements and we could look for future grants.
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Wayne Feiden: What you're going to see in the slides coming forward is when we asked you, or what did you want in the last forums.
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Wayne Feiden: Where she didn't hear that many big ticket items we didn't hear that many people saying we need to have a big marquee project that's really exciting. It's going to be a
million dollars or more
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Wayne Feiden: It was certainly a lot of interest in that we had, you know, sort of virtual votes. We did that process.
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Wayne Feiden: But we heard more people talking about what we're calling the low hanging fruit relatively small projects.
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Wayne Feiden: So we pivoted $100,000 instead of thinking about it off or design, we decided to spend 20,000 on survey, because a lot of what people told us is they wanted more sidewalks
and they particularly wanted more street trees. We can't design street trees until we know what we own
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Wayne Feiden: And even if we don't own it. We need survey to understand who owns that so we can acquire that property.
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Wayne Feiden: So based on the last process. The process. We had close to a year ago now pre coated
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Wayne Feiden: We decided to go ahead with the survey. We just got the draft survey. Actually, this morning we expect the final survey about a week from now.
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Wayne Feiden: So we get. Now I'll show you some slides. The survey later so that parts done and that leaves 80,000 and again we expect the 80,000 to be for actual implementation.
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Wayne Feiden: There may be some design. It depends on what people suggest, right. So, people said that we really need to have
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Wayne Feiden: You know, given one example. We've heard a flashing beacon was called a rapid rectangular flashing beacon similar what we have the high school we would probably have to
hire an electrical engineer for a couple of thousand dollars to do some details, but most of that 1000 would be implementation.
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Wayne Feiden: To one area where we have a little bit more money than 80,000 is about street trees we collect mitigation money when someone cuts down a tree, a significant tree.
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Wayne Feiden: It's over 20 inches diameter breast tight as part of a redevelopment of a property they either replace the tree, or they pay into a mitigation fund.
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Wayne Feiden: So we have some money in that mitigation fund. So we have 80,000 plus maybe some additional money that it's only for street planting a tree plantings above the 80,000
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Wayne Feiden: So again, it depends on what we hear tonight. But no, that's out here. I saw some point I'll see him now but rich partiality who's the tree cities tree warden.
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Wayne Feiden: Joined the call. And so we would obviously work with him on the details of what's to retrace we're looking like process.
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Wayne Feiden: So again, we get lots of public input, besides the big picture public forums, the virtual forums and the real forums before this all began with a very small grant from
AARP American Association of Retired Persons people
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Wayne Feiden: To, to try to engage people to understand come to public forums. We did an outside
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Wayne Feiden: Event. Some students from Smith College and UMass organized this thing, this is our collection we heard from people
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Wayne Feiden: Right. So I have the next four slides are sort of the ideas that we took to the public forum that we have well calendar Dylan, correct me but 15 months ago, some some time
period.
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Wayne Feiden: We had a lot of people at the meeting. And so, but this is of course was one snapshot 40 people at the meeting. We heard from them, they may or may not reflect what you
all think today.
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Wayne Feiden: So as I said, we asked, Are there big gestures. And so one of the examples is this park the traffic circle, if you will, the park in the middle of road next to Florida
civic
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Wayne Feiden: And when it is as well. Should we redo the entire intersection. Should we close the road and extend this the park to connect so people actually get to it are getting killed
by cars.
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Wayne Feiden: In reduce circulation. When we asked people to vote. This actually had a fair number of votes.
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Wayne Feiden: But it was still a minority of people and a lot of people were extremely concerned that we create new traffic congestion. So while there was a lot of support it clearly
was not overwhelming support that. And that's again.
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Wayne Feiden: What led us to say, well, maybe what we really want is a series of small pieces. But this isn't a table. When I asked you first. To vote, and then later to talk. This is
one of the things I'm going to ask you to think about
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Wayne Feiden: So consistently what we heard people say most that we are a lot of comments but the single biggest comment was about street trees.
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Wayne Feiden: We didn't drill down. So this is part of the conversation when I drill down today.
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Wayne Feiden: One of the conversations, is where do you want street trees so Dobson Flickr did this graphic for us as part of the zoning, the upper left is, you know, a street without
any trees.
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Wayne Feiden: The bottom left is normally the ideal way we have street trees there and what we call the tree belt that separate the sidewalk from the street.
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Wayne Feiden: But given that Florence already has sidewalks. This would be a really expensive solution. So you have to rip up the sidewalks.
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Wayne Feiden: You have to put the street trees in, in some cases, the sidewalk will be too narrow and you have to extend the sidewalk further away from the road. So the option on the
bottom right is the lower cost way.
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Wayne Feiden: You can do a lot more street trees. Some this might be in places where the city owns land beyond the right of way. And mostly that's on the east to the part of Florence
on the south side where we already own extra land.
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Wayne Feiden: Or acquiring land when we could. And so when I was going to ask you later, is do you care. You want the trip L trees that are gorgeous. But really expensive or the trees
for their back.
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Wayne Feiden: And of course, I have to point out that these pictures of what it will look like in 15 years we start with much smaller tree so don't expect us to start with, but this
is aspiration in the process.
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Wayne Feiden: And then we ask people, again, in terms of Grand gestures about making crosswalks safer. We heard a lot of people who didn't like the curb extensions at Cumberland farms.
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Wayne Feiden: Car shouldn't be hitting them because they're in a Park Lane isn't supposed to be driving down there. But nonetheless, people do hit them. And there's a lot of complaints.
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Wayne Feiden: And we didn't hear a lot. And so we could imagine big ticket items, whether it's what's called a mid block crossing like at Cumberland farms.
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Wayne Feiden: Or Crossing Intersections doing curb extensions. That's still fairly expensive, right. So as an example, when we close Cracker Barrel alley downtown. That was a $35,000
project.
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Wayne Feiden: To, you know, rip out the driveway and redo the sidewalk and redo the grading for it. We some of our sidewalks don't meet current
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Wayne Feiden: Ada standards American Disabilities Act standards and they're sort of grandfathered but when we redo them, we have to fix them and meet the standards that always makes
things more expensive than you think.
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Wayne Feiden: Again at the meeting a year some time here to go. We did not hear a lot of priorities for big ticket curve extensions. We did hear both of that meeting. And then, more
recently, and emails. I've been getting about Lighter, quicker, cheaper crosswalk treatment.
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Wayne Feiden: So I think was Chris Grasso, who emailed and said, How about one of those rapid rectangular flash and beacons at both foreign civic and Florence back those things are relatively
inexpensive so expensive, but they're relatively inexpensive.
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Wayne Feiden: At least compared to this kind of thing. And so it's more cost. Again, this is still not nothing for costs.
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Wayne Feiden: And then street furnishings industry furnishings to cover a lot of things, three furnishing three benches garbage pails bollards
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Wayne Feiden: Different street lights.
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Wayne Feiden: At the meeting, a year and a half ago, we did not hear. We heard sort of people checking a box. So yeah, we should have better screen furnishings.
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Wayne Feiden: But we heard, neither passionate arguing for those things. You're a lot of voices for them.
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Wayne Feiden: But again, we didn't drill down. That was so the first step that was big picture versus details now we're trying to drill down. Now when we'd like to hear more is it is
this right. The only street parsley furnishings important
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Wayne Feiden: We do have a separate project that's actually funded by downtown parking, but the mayor proof spending some of it and downtown to replace his paper boxes all over the city
with a standard newspaper box that's in better condition.
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Wayne Feiden: And that's already you know funded mass moving forward. So the newspaper box.
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Wayne Feiden: By Florence diner is going to be replaced as part of that effort. So that's sort of separate part of this whole piece.
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Wayne Feiden: So again, this is sort of a summary. So we've done the land survey will show you later we're moving for the newspaper boxes and that leaves this $80,000
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Wayne Feiden: Just going to low hanging fruit unless we hear overwhelming votes today saying no, we should really go back and do big ticket items. So that's sort of background I'm, I'm
just going to race through this quickly in terms of the
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Wayne Feiden: Survey, just to get a sense of it and I can send this around. I know it's probably hard to sell. If you have a big monitor. It's hard to see this. So this is the survey
from west to east. So starting in Florence civic
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Wayne Feiden: And the thing you're trying to look at if you can see it in your screen is you can see concrete walk. That's the sidewalk and you can see a dark line behind it. That's
the city's boundary
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Wayne Feiden: So in the Westerly part of Florence mostly the edge of the city property boundary is the edge of the sidewalk. In some cases, obviously right but Maple Street. There's
buildings as you get a little bit further east, even when this not buildings.
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Wayne Feiden: So when you get to Valley, medical, for example, we still only own the rear of the sidewalk. So to do new trees on Valley medicals property that was one of the graphics
I showed you earlier, we would have to acquire additional right of way.
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Wayne Feiden: As you get further east. So east of chestnut, you can start seeing a little bit on the north, but a lot of bit on the south, that our property boundary extends a little
bit away from the sidewalk.
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Wayne Feiden: We're going to talk about feet is are measured often and single feet, but that's enough to do tree planting.
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Wayne Feiden: So there are places we could plant trees without buying additional property or having additional property donated to us. And then that continues as you get, you know, all
the way down to 20 row Park.
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Wayne Feiden: Then the strip becomes much wider.
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Wayne Feiden: That's over here. But again, this is probably less with our focuses
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, so the first thing I'm going to do is I'm gonna put up a poll. I'm going to ask you to vote. And this is basically asked you to vote each of these things. So I'm
going to put this up.
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Wayne Feiden: And see yours voting and his two questions that are identical. It doesn't let me do rank order. So the first question is what's most important. And the second question
is what second list and you may love 40 things but we just couldn't afford them all so I'm
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Wayne Feiden: Go ahead and vote.
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Robert Ross: No Audio here.
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Wayne Feiden: Up to 70% of your voting, and I know couple, you're probably not voting. So I'm going to wait another few seconds.
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Wayne Feiden: This little people stop voting.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, I'm going to end the poll. I know in a few seconds.
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Wayne Feiden: And I will share the results for you all.
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Wayne Feiden: This shows up as well. I'm sure you all see this
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Wayne Feiden: Yes. Okay.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, so
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Wayne Feiden: More split that I would have thought
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Wayne Feiden: You know, obviously, the biggest plurality is street trees on the private side of sidewalk least expensive ones and then followed closely by street trees. So that's pretty
obvious. And that's probably similar
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Wayne Feiden: That you know 61% of you voted for street trees and one of the other. That's probably somewhat similar to what we heard before.
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Wayne Feiden: And
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Wayne Feiden: And the second
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Wayne Feiden: Sort of similar, you know, so I'm sure you have different priorities between the two, but between the first and second trees certainly got most important piece so
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Wayne Feiden: I'm going to open it up for your discussion, the rest of time is really yours for for discussion.
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Wayne Feiden: I think I'm the it's clear about the trees. So I won't be productive in our time. So I don't think we need passionate calls for trees. I mean, you know,
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Wayne Feiden: If somebody has something new to add, it's fine. But I think it's pretty clear that there's a passionate belief and trees and anything that we do need to include trees
as part of that process.
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Wayne Feiden: So I guess I'm most interested in. So, so if we don't talk about trees don't think it means we don't care about trees we heard you. You've already registered that what
I'd like to hear is all the other things that are important people, particularly the
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Wayne Feiden: You know 17% said huge project big project for their first goal and 8% for the second call tell us more about pad for the street furnishings, you know, so, so each of these
things that aren't about trees. I'm particularly interested in more details for that process.
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Wayne Feiden: So there's a lot of us on the call. There are 51 of us. So I'm going to ask you all to raise your hand.
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Wayne Feiden: And
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Wayne Feiden: The easiest way you can raise your hand electronically.
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Wayne Feiden: Because I have this Q screens that people. I won't be able to see you all. For those of you who
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Wayne Feiden: Don't know how to raise your hand electronically. I'll still come to you once you raise your hand, physically, but I'll ask people, quantum electronic first and then last
day, if there is anybody who called in
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Wayne Feiden: Its star nine to raise your hand if you if you can't see us. So, Molly Hale, I'm gonna start with you, and you're gonna have to unmute yourself. Yep.
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Molly Hale: Hi, I'm, I'm on the tree Commission the urban tree. The urban forestry commission, formerly known as the North Hampton public shade tree Commission, and I have two comments
about the tree planting. One is that
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Molly Hale: There is a another alternative to planting trees on the other side of the sidewalk to acquiring the property. It's called a setback program and it's where
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Molly Hale: We talk with the landowner and
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Molly Hale: Get their permission to plant a tree there and the city pays the expenses for planting a tree and maintaining it. In exchange, it goes on their deed as a permanent
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Molly Hale: Part of their property that cannot be cut down without paying a penalty. So that is an option. And that's something that
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Molly Hale: The tree commission. I think wants to look into more as doing on a on a bigger scale. The second thing I want to say is that we're in the midst right now of doing a survey
of tree planting sites within a quarter mile radius of downtown Florida and of downtown North Hampton.
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Molly Hale: So I don't want to duplicate what you guys have already done and you guys shouldn't be duplicating what we've already done. We should be coordinating on this.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, baseball, it's good. We
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Wayne Feiden: Hear from yourself.
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Molly Hale: Now he's frozen.
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Lee Feldscher: There we go. I was one of the people who voted for other big project and the big project I'm interested in is Park. I think a downtown Park somewhere along
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Lee Feldscher: Main Street in Florence would be a wonderful addition to the city.
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Wayne Feiden: And we bike park, we sort of think about tiny pocket parks and obviously not to be a huge part. But tell me a little more about what you think is critical for apart.
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Lee Feldscher: Well I what I picture in my mind is the new Polanski park that was created in downtown North Hampton obviously something of that scale would not necessarily work in downtown
Florence, but
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Lee Feldscher: I'm, I'm, I'm very impressed with that park. I think it serves a great function. And if we could get as close to some of those elements that that park has
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Lee Feldscher: I think that would be great. A gathering spot some leisure area pretty
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Lee Feldscher: Be Awesome. If it could be a venue for entertainment events or small concerts, things like that.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay thanks like Linda Europe.
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Wayne Feiden: It again unmute yourself.
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Linda Tumbarello: Um, well I there happened concerts over by the library and the Community Center, which I really have enjoyed that place. I mean, I was since since thinking about this
meeting was walking around, you know, downtown Florence. I've lived here for two years now and and
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Linda Tumbarello: What I really felt like what's gonna make me want to hang out here more other than just go to the bank or go somewhere, you know, assist
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Linda Tumbarello: So, I mean, I thought more the benches and I don't know the sidewalks are so narrow, so I don't know in terms of having, you know, more outdoor restaurant possibilities
cafe possibilities, something to
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Linda Tumbarello: Hang out. This is what inspired me and and I certainly am into the trees.
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Linda Tumbarello: I'll say more in a bit. I want to hear more about other people to
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Wayne Feiden: Linda's father. And one thing is are having wider sidewalks when possible priority.
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Linda Tumbarello: Well, I don't really know what it means. But, you know,
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Wayne Feiden: What think about
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Wayne Feiden: Florence bank to Florence diner has wider sidewalks than everywhere else.
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Linda Tumbarello: Yes, I know.
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Wayne Feiden: I'm more desirable experienced in the restaurant.
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Linda Tumbarello: Right. And that feel, I feel differently there, you know, but you know, I'm not necessarily voting for gigantic projects, especially at this time.
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Wayne Feiden: Gabby Europe.
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Gaby Immerman: Or Wayne. Hi everybody I'm Wait, I'm just gonna say out loud. The question I wrote into the chat, which is, can you just speak to what
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Gaby Immerman: Tools. The city has to encourage a broader mix of businesses and street life to me like the benches are come second.
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Gaby Immerman: To the thing that comes first, which is like a reason and a desire to be downtown and I know of course you can't reach in and make some of the pizza parlors turn into
other things, but I just wonder what the, what the city can do to encourage a lively or mix and streetscape
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Wayne Feiden: Yeah, I mean, mostly being permissive. I think, you know, I mean, in theory, yeah. I suppose we could write zoning.
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Wayne Feiden: That prohibits new uses that don't generate a lot of traffic, but given the vacancies in the city, and given the likelihood of vacancies rising
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Wayne Feiden: It's unlikely. We're going to get stricter about first floor uses
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Wayne Feiden: So I think we've been seeing this, and certainly this is a public investing program are talking about today, we've been seeing this more as
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Wayne Feiden: What are things that we can enable to allow those more likely businesses. So, you know, Linda's comment about, you know, benches are wider sidewalks.
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Wayne Feiden: Those are necessary preconditions or sidewalk cafes for people. He hanging out and eating that piece of it, they get it. It doesn't make people do that, but it's it's it's
necessary. You know the story, I often tell when I first moved here 32 years ago.
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Wayne Feiden: Downtown Holyoke had just gotten major grants invested majorly in streetscapes but there were no businesses using them. And it didn't matter. They have great benches and
great life. So, you know, street furnishings, or by themselves not adequate, but they are a necessary part of the office.
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Wayne Feiden: I'm Windy
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Wendy Foxmyn: A few things I'll be short one. I just want to say I love Florence center and I'm glad to hear. We're not talking about changing and a whole lot
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Wendy Foxmyn: It's hard for me to imagine the tree planting because my sense of the center is
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Wendy Foxmyn: The built so many of the buildings are so close to the sidewalk, but I leave that to you all to figure that out. And so I would support that.
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Wendy Foxmyn: I also voted for way finding and that did not come up. So I know Robert Ross is on the call. I saw him earlier and don't see him on my screen now. But I don't know if he
or someone else could talk a little bit about what that meant. What that means, what the, what the idea for that is
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Wayne Feiden: OK, but then the whole we get to
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Wayne Feiden: Try. All right.
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Wendy Foxmyn: Thank you. I'm done.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, great. Mark.
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Marc Sternick: Oh boy.
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Marc Sternick: Three quick items. One is in terms of widening the tree belt.
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Marc Sternick: In a sense, it by putting in street trees on the on the grass side of the sidewalks. Has anyone talked about
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Marc Sternick: Breaking or widening the sidewalks between the trees.
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Marc Sternick: Maybe even three three feet to allow for things like benches and planters, which could help tie the whole downtown Florence together.
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Marc Sternick: Because that's something that I'm I'm concerned about with whatever project moves forward that there's a holistic approach to try and tie the the downtown area, together
with ball with signage lighting benches crosswalks where everything has something that ties it together design was
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Marc Sternick: Has anyone talked about widening sidewalks in front of eateries the eateries that we have
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Marc Sternick: Just these days, having any
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Marc Sternick: Any eatery in these in this region is a hard proposition for anyone. So to support them. If we were to take a couple or two or three of the parking spots and enlarge the
sidewalk, would they, the business owners be interested in having outdoor dining
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Marc Sternick: Several months maybe five months, six months out of the year, which could add to enlivening the street by by bringing the businesses out more.
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Marc Sternick: I think that's about it. I also want to support
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Marc Sternick: What I heard from Lee about doing a small Park as part of the plan. Okay.
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Wayne Feiden: Great, thank you. Thank you, Keith.
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Keith Benoit: Yeah, I'm here to talk
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Keith Benoit: From the disability commission. I don't think there's anyone here on the Commission on the call, but they want me to advocate for benches. I did vote for that.
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Keith Benoit: So I think there's people are elderly people who are using walkers, maybe even people in wheelchairs, I think a bench is a natural place to
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Keith Benoit: Get rest are sick and just kind of enjoy the outdoors. Maybe not having to go into a business. Some of the businesses, a little more challenging to get into the
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Keith Benoit: The doors, a little tighter. They might be the ramps or might be level, but still might know more difficult to maneuver and some of those buildings.
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Keith Benoit: And then the park. They haven't spoken about the park. But I think that would be a natural place kind of central to the downtown that we nice little endpoint and like a
natural place to have a have a mention as well so
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Keith Benoit: I would I would advise for those. Great. Thank you.
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Heather.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Gotta unmute myself. That's awesome. That was a lead into what I'm going to say because I cared for my wheelchair bound husband for five years in meadowbrook
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Three of the 12 apartments in the building that I work in, we use walkers either some or all of the time. I currently sporadically use both a walker or
wheelchair.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): So I'm just going to give you an example of what a pain in the ass. It is for my Walker bound friend to get to the bank. So show
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): She comes up the hill and she gets past Cooper's and gets to where that dental places and the way they plow in the winter is to plow the snow right into
the sidewalk. So she can't get to the thing
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): That's a tiny thing you can, like, try to enforce that or change the way the cloud, does it, but
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Like the wheelchair where you can put a wheelchair is really hard and I am a big fan of wider sidewalks, because if you have to have a 32 inch door.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): And even that doesn't accommodate wheelchairs that need 3636 36 inches of clear sidewalk is a good idea.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): And unless you're also going to put benches between the trees, which is a really nice suggestion, putting the trees on the side of the sidewalk is actually
better
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): The number of times where there's a lot of people gathering and congregating on the sidewalk any person in a chair is trying to get through that and literally
isn't even seen
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): And has to raise their voice to get through is it's so common in downtown North Hampton, it's less common in downtown Florence.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): But you know what I really want our curb cuts that work for things with wheels and a wide enough space.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): And I also want benches for people with walkers or people who are pushing somebody else's manual wheelchair and if you put all of those things in place,
you have automatically made it better for everyone else, because a stroller or a wheeled
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Cart that you would carry your groceries in will work better in those situations.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Right now the curb cuts right at that intersection between North main like right ahead of where you get to the park in the Civic Center.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Those curb cuts are actually pretty good. And I checked the curb cuts at Cumberland farms and there are a lot of people crossing there with walkers and
wheelchairs, because those are the bottom of that cut is
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): almost perfectly level with the street itself. So I if any project that we do, if it's going to be a big ticket project.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): Really want to get people who actually use those devices to check in about what those cuts are like, and I can tell you that the cut the new cut that's
in there at Cumberland farms is well done.
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): And
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Heather Craig (she, he, they): That's really important to me because my neighbors and I can always use the downtown. The way that we would the Florence center, the way that that we would
like to. And if you build it for those people, it'll work for everybody else.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, thank you very much, Betsy.
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Betsy Alden: Hi everybody.
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Betsy Alden: Oh, I'm interested in seeing if we could create something of a beautification committee.
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Betsy Alden: A lot of municipalities have them. And let me give you a case in point. A couple of years ago my neighbor Mary coffee, who I believe is on the call. She and I approached
the Robert and Mary, who owns the Florence.
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Betsy Alden: flower shop and they gave us money to buy plants to put in the tree wells right around the you know the really the center of town. And we did that.
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Betsy Alden: We didn't do it last year.
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Betsy Alden: But I see those tree wells, for example, just growing weeds.
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Betsy Alden: And they're not maintained their, their unattractive and that's why I voted for trees in on the grass, because again, that way you don't have to deal with, with all that
but that the downtown just looks to me like it's sort of
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Betsy Alden: Forgotten it's it's unattractive. A lot of the times the sidewalks are not maintained there's there's macadam where there should be concrete.
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Betsy Alden: Certain businesses, take care of the front of their of their areas others don't. And they look terrible. So the idea of creating something where, you know, it would be maintained
from a sort of
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Betsy Alden: I mean I'm 100% behind the other things that folks have said, including a park of some kind. But if we could also focus on what we have that we could make better
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Betsy Alden: And creating something of a I've looked up unification committees from a municipal perspective, they are out there and
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Betsy Alden: You know, just I think I think Florence could really the downtown area could really benefit so that as people are driving through or whatever they could, they could say
Wow this looks really nice. This looks like a well tended
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Betsy Alden: village or town or whatever. So, so that's my idea.
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Wayne Feiden: Good, thank you. Informed civics for some of that function even not formally beautification committee, but I think it's a good point.
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Wayne Feiden: So I don't know who the main person name is but candy computer
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candeecomputer: Hi Candy. Okay.
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candeecomputer: Well, just do reiterate a couple of things that great ideas. You've all said, including marks about kind of pulling it all together. For instance, right in front of the
ice cream place.
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candeecomputer: Now next near the near the bank and the diner is is a gathering place but it's hot, as can be. There is no shade. So I put in the chat, you know, shade trees in that
tree belt on that side of the street.
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candeecomputer: And yes, more expensive. And then on the other side of the street, you'd put trees on private property because then you get the maximum shade alone is hot, sunny days
it when the, when the sun is on the south.
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candeecomputer: Just a compromise and maximize shade.
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candeecomputer: And going in, I agree that the the sidewalks need to be wider and more inviting and if you have the shade and you have the
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candeecomputer: The benches, it'd be way more inviting for me. I mean, I
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candeecomputer: I have a 10 year old, and I would have loved to walk downtown more often. But it was so hot to push that stroller on those small sidewalks.
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candeecomputer: It was like it was not a destination place for me, even though it's walking distance for us. So that didn't happen.
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candeecomputer: In our younger life in his in real life. So just to it to make more notes like that. And because the parking that I believe is available kind of it. Florence Savings
Bank, they have a parking lot near the near the Rail Trail and they and then the parking over near the
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candeecomputer: paint store or places where people Park and then you can walk into
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candeecomputer: into mainstream and access it. But then, where do you hang out like after you park and walk there and you eat, get your pizza.
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candeecomputer: You need more little notebooks like that place in front of the pizza and ice cream place, but it has to be shady and you have to have a bench and things like that. So,
so I would say invest in those sidewalks and those little spots.
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candeecomputer: And maybe a park in that Civic Center place. That sounds pretty great, too, but
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candeecomputer: Okay.
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Wayne Feiden: Thanks candy. So Robert, you're off if you could both say whatever you have in mind, but also address Wendy's question about way finding and what you guys were thinking
about way finding
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Wayne Feiden: If you're on mute yourself.
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Robert Ross: Yeah, I'm here. Okay. Can you hear me. Yes, yes. Kurt browser, the President of the Civic Center civic association and I have talked about way finding sizes, what we'd like
to have
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Robert Ross: Is some sort of unified theme sign signage that was attractive and we could eliminate things like standard sports science where you have that clutter on the sidewalks.
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Robert Ross: We're looking for some sort of way finding signs for businesses that are off of Main Street can be visible to Main Street, including some better signage on the bike path
as well.
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Robert Ross: So we'd like to have come up with a plan for for a theme. As I mentioned earlier, same ol same along with newspaper boxes benches.
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Robert Ross: We see in North Hampton, it seems to be pretty easy to end up with this hodgepodge instead of really having a nice
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Robert Ross: Oh, this is Florence that all of a sudden the benches to the lighting the signposts at all, at all kind of clicks together instead of, you know, we now we have those spun
aluminum poles that were put in and in 1980 and they've
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Robert Ross: Lived their usefulness and we'd love to upgrade those. So I think for major projects for me. I, I would really like to see the sidewalks addressed.
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Robert Ross: resurfaced. Many of them are in for repair at this point. Now we are talking
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Robert Ross: 30 plus years now on on concrete sidewalks and we were short changed when they were done as it was there were plans for better streetscapes in front of foreign Savings Bank
and
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Robert Ross: The ice cream parlor money ran short because people thinking long range decided that it was more important to bury our power lines.
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Robert Ross: Then to do the betterment on the sidewalk and that's what happened. The money is that was earmarked for sidewalk improvements got put into Barrington power lines.
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Robert Ross: And I would like to talk about government involvement in making things happen yet. I'm sorry. It's great. You guys can guide us but is what really makes things happen, or
people
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Robert Ross: It's been tried in Holyoke, for one. So you try to throw money at it at a problem. It doesn't fix it. You need human investment.
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Robert Ross: You can make a beautification committee, but you need somebody to spirit it I mean to make something happen. You got to put yourself right there on the line and I'll say
that because I'm one of the guys that does that on a regular basis.
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Robert Ross: And yeah, great. Let's have a beautification let's do beautification that means getting yourself out there and picking some weeds up out of the sidewalk, which I have done
with our volunteers from JFK.
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Robert Ross: Annually, we do do that but it didn't happen this year because of it. So, not to waste too much time. I guess I'm done for now.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay, thank you, Matthew.
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Matthew Hale Rattigan: Hi, hopefully you can hear me okay I I just was wondering how we might highlight Florence's identity as an artistic community. We have so many amazing artists
living and or working in Florence.
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Matthew Hale Rattigan: I feel like there's been in past years, good participation in sort of sidewalk. One night only art installations and I think it'd be really great if we could have
some permanent space for permanent or semi permanent
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Matthew Hale Rattigan: art installations from some of our local artistic community that would really kind of give Florence, a great identity, it's be a little different from, you know,
just a miniature downtown North Hampton, it would kind of be its own thing. Thanks. Okay.
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Wayne Feiden: Thank you, Aaron.
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Wayne Feiden: You have to unmute yourself there.
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Wayne Feiden: Are you there.
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Wayne Feiden: Aaron. Can you hear me.
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Wayne Feiden: Okay.
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Erin: Can you hear me.
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Wayne Feiden: Yep, you're getting your golden good
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Erin: So for most of the people on this call, it's apparent that you did not grow up in Florence and don't know Florence, you have a park at Trinity row.
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Erin: It's Trinity row and South Main Street. There's benches on there. There's a fountain down there. It's a gorgeous little park at the beginning a main street for the business community,
none of you have mentioned that you haven't mentioned the park over on Park Street and Pine Street.
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Erin: Where the statue is another great park that we have in Florence.
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Erin: The bump out in Florence, all I see in the winter is cars riding over those because they were supposed to be marked so people driving knows. Hey, guess what, we have a bump out
here. You can't right oh rep and anybody who lives in Florida sees is happening every time it snows
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Erin: sidewalks are your problem. They haven't been done in over 40 years
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Erin: And because of that, it's dangerous for senior centers senior citizens to walk down there and you have to HOUSING AUTHORITIES ON ON NORTH maple one on Maple Street.
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Erin: That's what you should be looking at. We all walk downtown. We go downtown all the time and with the virus. It's been even more. We see everything and using the Business Association.
We vote there, you turn it into a park, what are we going to go
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Erin: So there's a lot of questions you brought up, but you didn't realize your response has another problem attached to it because you don't know Florence sidewalks in Florence are
awesome.
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Erin: You can walk down them. But the problem that seniors run into is kids on bicycles riding their bikes.
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Erin: I'm afraid to walk down there, because I've gotten hit by a kid on a bike. No one is supposed to ride a bike in the business district.
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Erin: And Matthew, I'm sure you as a kid, you got stopped because riding a bike in Florence, because we all did. So we don't ride bikes and we were taught not to ride a bike.
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Erin: You have a whole area over by the bike path behind depot AV deeper road that would make a beautiful park and there's enough land over the air with the bike path to be able to do
that.
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Erin: And if you want something in the center perfect spot to put it in that whole area that runs along the bike path you have business on one side you have residence on the other side.
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Erin: But when you're looking at this, you need to look at what makes sense sidewalks trees with planters would be an awesome idea benches no benches to set
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Erin: Set for the post office. Okay, so you want to go downtown. You have to get out and walk down. Make sure you can walk back because you can't see any place and picnic tables are
gone right now. So that's my take.
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Wayne Feiden: Take care, Michael.
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Michael Miller: I think that the points that people have brought up have been spot on.
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Michael Miller: Notably, the point about access for people with disabilities or with some kind of
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Michael Miller: Limitation
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Michael Miller: One thing I just want to bring around for different
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Michael Miller: Point of view is the integration with what would be going on down in North Hampton downtown and what goes on in Florence. If North Hampton downtown does things right
and I put that in air quotes and does something to try and
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Michael Miller: Keep people who are driving through not to drive on Main Street in the same way that you would not have people continuing on through up Route nine and right through the
middle of Florence, maybe using Bridge Road, or something else.
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Michael Miller: If there was some way of then
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Michael Miller: Separating and making Florence to be an attractive reason to be there and for access for everything else that goes on for the bicyclists for the motor motorists for the
pedestrians and everything else.
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Michael Miller: That doesn't work hand in hand with people who want to just move through and get up to Williamsburg, or to Leeds or somewhere else beyond. I think that would be a major
step forward and some of the challenge of how to deal with.
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Michael Miller: The reorientation of Main Street Florence versus people just trying to get through and go somewhere else and I think it would just change the whole tone and the utility
of Florence as a village overall if we could factor that into the whole whole design.
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Wayne Feiden: Michael Alina.
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Elena Huisman: Everyone. And I just wanted to add maybe to your list Wayne, a couple of additional items that I was hoping to see in this redesign one being
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Elena Huisman: Bike lanes. So, you know, a lot of people have talked about the sidewalks and walking downtown. But I think there's a huge opportunity to be able to bike downtown from
various
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Elena Huisman: areas of town that aren't necessarily a JSON or along the path and getting over to the bike path safely. I think is really important. We have a number. Well, I think there's
four lanes of car traffic.
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Elena Huisman: That go through Florence center, you know, to vehicle lanes travel lanes and then to parallel parking lanes throughout most of the downtown area and you know allocating
or reallocating some of that streetscape to include protected bike lanes, you know,
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Elena Huisman: could improve you know folks coming downtown spending time downtown and in tandem with those bike lanes having places to park your bike so bike racks.
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Elena Huisman: I know oftentimes that takes space away from sidewalks. But what I've seen in other towns and municipalities is installing bike racks in a parallel parking spot.
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Elena Huisman: And so that's one suggestion. Another suggestion is kind of just thinking about the limited space we have with sidewalks and wanting to make sure that they're wide enough
for ADA compliance and then also wanting to incorporate trees.
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Elena Huisman: I voted for the trees. And I think both of the polls and you know it's kind of sticking ourselves.
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Elena Huisman: In a hard spot in the sense where we're trying to find space for trees between buildings between existing infrastructure and just wanting to put it out there, recognizing
that it's likely significantly more expensive having to move utility lines or the drainage systems.
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Elena Huisman: You know, taking again space from the street to incorporate trees and planting trees where cars are currently utilizing that space, whether it's for traveling or for parking.
Thanks.
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Wayne Feiden: Chris
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Chris Powers: Me. Yep, good Chris powers 105 North Main Street couple points I'd like to emphasize streetlights love to see the lighting and Florence can change out. We've got some
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Chris Powers: What you call modern lighting up there that throw that we were promised years ago, those light bulbs be changed out to be some similar what was downtown Northampton.
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Chris Powers: Agree with a few of the photo of the sidewalks. The ADA compliance part of it at that straight down the trees.
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Chris Powers: I've been here since the late 90s. Anybody want to raise your hand. How many trees. A planted from ride his bike shop that central Florida and how many have been ripped
out
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Chris Powers: There you go. It's over 60 trees over 60 countries, they've done nothing zero for maintenance, you come in you plant a tree leaf.
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Chris Powers: They're not lasting I've kept it I kept track of this, you need to put raised receptacles they've got some half moon European style one so they happen reflective the treat
the flex assault.
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Chris Powers: And debris coming in and on the inside of those benches. They're very European style bench. I love it. It's the trees raise
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Chris Powers: You know, fill out all over North North maple. It was a great example and played a two trees. I think they're nine years old to 45 feet tall.
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Chris Powers: And they started out as little, little trees. So you're going to put the trees and or maintenance program and we're not just
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Chris Powers: Coming now water and fertilize them once a week. You can't put a flat ground registry. It's going to get destroyed that pre belt is horrendous. When they come in and bullets
know off the hammer those things, you know, it's not worth it.
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Chris Powers: As a benches. I walk around town once a week and pick up trash or on all the benches and there's baritone when I say pick up trash, I can just go down the list of things
are McNeil Geneva.
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Chris Powers: So putting the benches out. I mean, I picked up probably 300 cigarette butts off accommodated day and instead of town by college and keep her. And as far as a party concerned.
We've got multiple parts of town, you know,
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Chris Powers: That's going to go back to one subject want to finish on you want to put a park or by the Civic Center at building is there because of myself.
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Chris Powers: Too late. Carrie Clark rest Christiansen Kurt browser. When a few other people they want to sell that building for $25,000 to the library tear it down. Close the road.
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Chris Powers: About open area and have an extension of the library we black that we voted against that and we kept that Civic Center. Since then, we've renovated a building from top
to bottom, put on a gazebo.
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Chris Powers: We have a ton of functions are going on up here that building was God. You would not have the Spirit and the community in Florence, you have right now.
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Chris Powers: And I don't see any reason to turn a Park, Florida, through our civic association. There's no need for it. Somebody mentioned earlier, there's parks and both in the town.
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Chris Powers: Not utilize. There's also safety village rust Christians, his family donated the property for a cane field here on the other side of town off road.
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Chris Powers: I mean, there's not enough maintenance in the parks in the city now and there's also a trip out a lot of these properties. You can go out on can't go down a certain areas
baseball fields and stuff like that.
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Chris Powers: My kids used to play pickup baseball and we got tossed off the fields. A couple years ago because they were close so maintain the property you have. Okay, you've got some
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Chris Powers: Lot of nice areas bypassed coming to town, make some areas up in the center of town. The bike lanes are good, but you're going to run into some problems. Okay.
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Chris Powers: Because where they got out there like come on firearms, you're gonna have to drop that bike lane out. People don't pay attention.
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Chris Powers: No matter what will you kind of don't disagree with the bikes. But I also know enough when I leave my house in North main to zip out the backup bridal get on the plane
bathroom up the side streets.
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Chris Powers: You know, a lot of good ideas. I don't want to see any police committed Canyon, the town in and create a high
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Chris Powers: I Vertical. Vertical population town, you know, there's a lot of good things great ideas I sent in a question around it. But there's some things that been to be done and
maintained and kept up before we start adding to the process. Thank you. Thank you, Chris, welcome.
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Wayne Feiden: Is a couple people have spoken before I'm going to get every chance to speak multiple times. But before I do that, is there anybody else who hasn't spoken, who wants to
raise their hand.
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Wayne Feiden: The one who's not really who's in your partner's name, Casey.
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Wayne Feiden: CASEY
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Kayce Warren: Hi, can you hear me. Here's my up. Okay.
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Kayce Warren: I'm not crazy. That's my wife's account name is Kurt Brazell I'm the president of foreign civic and Business Association, and I also murder mystery and the property at
1992 mainstream Florence.
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Kayce Warren: I've listened to a lot of this. And I just want to hit a couple of points really quick. One of my biggest things is crosswalks
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Kayce Warren: Was to do the lights like they have in front the elderly project and construct I set up my Goldsmith bench all day and I see the sidewalk by the bank. It is amazing how
many people
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Kayce Warren: That almost get hit or do the cars is do not stop for them also department up by the Civic Center would be very handy because people cross here to get to the library.
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Kayce Warren: A lot of kids use that and people just don't stop. And there's also one by the VFW. They did some carbines and stuff. It did slow people down somewhat. That seems now.
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Kayce Warren: Maybe put on there. I don't know what the cost is I looked him up. They were like 30 $400. I don't know what the city Bay's warm, not a big expense. To me, it's a safety
issue. It's not even a beautification issue.
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Kayce Warren: The bike trail signs, Robert and talk about them having some science in the bike trail pointing to businesses so that
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Kayce Warren: You know, if someone's coming up through the bike trail and they want to go to friendlies and get an ice cream or the diner and get a milkshake, or just heard store to
get a cold drink.
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Kayce Warren: You know, there's some signs that tell people that these are there as far as someone talked about the arts earlier.
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Kayce Warren: I would also like that and that science program. Send her come up with a mapping or side system that lets people know that there's a nanotech milena to 21 arts building
and I've been trying to reach out to a lot of these businesses.
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Kayce Warren: The Civic of business association is a private organization and we own a property we also just built a website called Florence mass comm
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Kayce Warren: We are building a business page for any business that's in Florence that wants to get listed on it and then we're going to be spending money to promote that page.
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Kayce Warren: And promote Florence, as a whole, this is a private enterprise across the city absolutely nothing like someone talking about concerts, we have concerts all summer long
at the Civic Center zero cost of the city.
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Kayce Warren: After that, the sidewalks.
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Kayce Warren: And we don't need all new sidewalks, you can go down the street. I mean, they can be a DW crew that can jam Cameron and put concrete and it's patching there's sections
that need to replace. We don't need an entire new sidewalk system.
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Kayce Warren: St. Paul's, it would be nice to have nice St. Paul's I know this is a much bigger expense.
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Kayce Warren: And it was something that was supposed to happen 30 years ago I grew up around the corner from Main Street. I've been in town for 54 years. I can tell you everything you
need to know what downtown Florence.
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Kayce Warren: On the sidewalk part the newest building in Florida is 100 range Street and for some reason they forced them and put it right on the sidewalk.
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Kayce Warren: So when people say the sidewalks are unclear to snow and stuff. I have the same problem over 36 sidewalk I paint company I go out myself. I clean it the DP W comes by and
fills it up.
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Kayce Warren: not their fault, not my fault is nothing you can do about it. I used to have my business cross the street and I had 10 feet, you know, shorter taken every parking spot
on that side of side of mine now. You can't do that.
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Kayce Warren: Yes, you could do improvements or sections or you do that.
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Kayce Warren: As far as trees go the trees. You can't put out the curb like Chris said they die, they don't get water. The dogs use them. And the worst thing is when they plow in the
winter, all the salt ends up on the trees and they die by late spring.
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Kayce Warren: We do have a lot of trees and Florence, actually, if you take a walk up and down the street. We could add more. My only concern is, is you put them on the opposite side.
On the business side.
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Kayce Warren: But be careful not to put it right in front of the business and block their signage that they are trying to make a living.
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Kayce Warren: Trash cans could really use trash cans next to the bus stop, like Chris's I can't tell you how many times when I do my building. Once we're gonna go around my building
pick up trash.
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Kayce Warren: And I also, a lot of times when I'm walking down the street by the bus stop at the valley medical pick up trash. There's an amazing amount of trash it gets left there.
I think benches are great, but you need to have trash cans. Next one, hopefully people will use them.
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Kayce Warren: And as someone talks about arts promoting arts, I would be interested in talking to them, we have from
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Kayce Warren: Bring through fall a farmers market at the Civic Center every Wednesday. And if someone in the arts community wanted to come up with a section people to do Arts at the
same time, we have enough space over there. We would be open to listening to them and helping them promote their businesses.
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Kayce Warren: Disabilities. Yeah, we have done new carvings and clients for disabilities. It's always nice to expand on a little bit. I ended up raising my entire parking lot, even with
my Korean so that there is no rapids is all even that was on me, you know,
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Kayce Warren: As far as parks. We do have some nice parts we spent 38,000 private funds to redo the fountains at Trinity row through our couple others, you know,
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Kayce Warren: You people we let everybody use our property at the Civic Center. I mean, we don't throw people off the lawn. We have benches and we put up trying to put events on you
around for everybody. I think that's all my points.
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Kayce Warren: That was after listening to everybody talk
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Kayce Warren: That's all I got.
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Wayne Feiden: Thanks, Kurt. That's very helpful. I don't know the name was ever Marcus iPad.
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iPad: Um, it's Dave Murphy with is winter beard. So you don't recognize
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iPad: what it looked like.
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Any plugs.
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iPad: Your update. Oh, yeah. Um, I want to
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iPad: Just, just talk about the basics and a lot of people have mentioned this, but you know the sidewalks are deplorable in the center performance. I remember when they did them.
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iPad: And they were so Brian had to wear sunglasses. When you walk down the sidewalks because the reflection off the sidewalks, but their patch with us fall there.
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iPad: They're pretty treacherous you know someone that when they've been treacherous head bowed the knee and hip replaced. You gotta be really careful you don't trip until yourself,
particularly from the Bank of
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iPad: Up to the corner where the light is with main and Maple Street that section, the template section is just falling apart.
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01:07:15.570 --> 01:07:27.210
iPad: There's one tree there that looks like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree in front of the bank. I remember about 12 years ago and Arbor Day, personally, putting a tree, there is now
just a hole in the ground because because that one died.
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iPad: And with, you know, with available funds money's not real great now and it's going to get get worse in the next couple years.
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iPad: Be just happy to get the sidewalks done something done with the trees and the light bulbs. This the concrete on the sidewalks is bad. It's also bad around the basis of the light
poles. So those things are going to start wobbling around at some point.
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iPad: And I do remember, you know, again, when it was done the last time and Robert right a lot of money gets spent bearing utility lines.
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01:07:59.550 --> 01:08:05.400
iPad: Because it was going to get Revisited and it just hasn't been revisited except with asphalt patches and dead trees.
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iPad: So you know in the in the grand scheme of things. I'm very, very much engaged and enjoy the concept of all of the grand plans, but on the ground level. The basic stuff the sidewalks.
The streetlights the dead trees.
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iPad: That stuff is going to consume, most of what I see is available resources, but that's basic stuff that really, really needs to be done. So, you know, I'd like to see us concentrate
on that.
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01:08:34.560 --> 01:08:46.590
iPad: For starters, after that. Yeah. And this other stuff that's in Richmond stuff is great, but when the sidewalks are decaying the street lights are losing their submit supports and
the trees are all dead. You know, that's
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iPad: I wouldn't call it low hanging fruit. Because what's it going to cost to do that stretches sidewalk. A lot of money in the sidewalks are expensive and
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iPad: So, so the basic stuff and you know it's it's the same way downtown. We haven't dealt with the sidewalks downtown because we were going to do this grand reconstruction.
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iPad: But you know the papers are coming up the sidewalks are shifting or i mean it's it's it's getting kind of hazardous.
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iPad: And that basic level of maintenance really really needs to stop getting getting put off in in favor of long term plans because the, the basic
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iPad: Ability to traverse Warren center is getting kind of tough. So, but I've heard a lot of other people say the same thing, but let's not lose track of that because that's where our
resources go initially sidewalks lighting fixture trees.
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iPad: It's big stuff and I do know. You know, when I was counselor for that area. A couple of times I did talk about the trash cans at the PTA bus stop. And I think Pvt. I was actually
going to do that a couple of times.
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iPad: They come, they go the trash is always there to trash cans on, are they, they come. They come, they go and the trash pickup in Florence, so you'd have to ask them why that trashcan
keeps disappearing, because there are some in this, you know, in the center that are
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iPad: That are chained to something they don't go away. But the one down at that bus stop seems to always keep disappearance. So that's Pvt. What happened to that one, but thank you.
And thanks for continuing to keep Florence on the agenda, you know,
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David
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Wayne Feiden: Robert Eastman
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Robert Eastman: Hi I'm joining the meeting, just a few minutes ago. So I'm not really sure what I've missed or what the premise for this meeting is really so I'm just going at it from
the email I got
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Robert Eastman: I'm Robert Eastman I live in ward three, but I was born and raised in Florence very close to mainstream is funds, many days and afternoons.
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Robert Eastman: On Main Street visiting friendlies going from JFK and our half days to buy candy of birds, lots of different things, but
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Robert Eastman: A few of the things I wanted to bring up
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Robert Eastman: Our about street trees. I heard someone saying that
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Robert Eastman: street trees are not suitable and that we already have a few, but I have to say, personally, walking down Main Street in Florence on a hot summer day.
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Robert Eastman: It feels really hot. I've found myself trying to hide behind the crosswalks like malodorous for a bit of shade sometimes and I know that shade published a tree planting
programs, you know, the
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Robert Eastman: Success rate is not always great. But since we're talking about the sidewalks. I think that this would be a great opportunity to make our sidewalks more conducive to
street tree planting. I'd also love to see
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Robert Eastman: When we redo the sidewalks to incorporate dream storm water infrastructure which I think would provide a really great educational opportunity for pedestrians to learn
about the watershed are located them.
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Robert Eastman: But that's all I also want to say that I would love to see in addition to trees, other kinds of planting, such as pollinator habitat. I think collaborating with the North
Hampton pollinator pathway project that's getting started, would be pretty cool.
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Robert Eastman: And I also just wanted to make a comment in response to the previous speaker about the low hanging fruit. I think that, you know, doing one thing at a time.
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Robert Eastman: Doesn't really make sense to me. I think a comprehensive plan that addresses all of these issues makes a lot more sense. I don't see things as bunches, for example, is
just furnishings. They think they're vital for civil society to assist
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Robert Eastman: Which reminds me of a quote I read of former employer Ben Janice who writes letters for the Gazette. Sometimes I quoted someone I can't remember.
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Robert Eastman: But he was said that the best measure of civil society is whether you can take a nap in the public. So I just wanted to mention that, um, oh yeah, sorry, one more thing
before I sign off is that in addition to the way finding science. I'd love to see some of the signs.
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Robert Eastman: Tall residents and pedestrian sit out some very cultural heritage, particularly Florence's founding the abolitionists community.
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Robert Eastman: All right, that's it. Thank you. Great.
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Wayne Feiden: Thank you. Hey, I just want to win quick shameless plug to interrupt for one second.
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Wayne Feiden: So I know many of you were on our email list and got an invitation for that if you didn't get it if you got the invitation for this indirectly through someone else and
you're interested
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Wayne Feiden: You can go to North Hampton ma.gov slash plan.
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Wayne Feiden: And sign up for the planning newsletter. We don't. We promise not to overwhelm you with email. But if you want to be aware of meetings like this.
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Wayne Feiden: It's a place to go. Just to warn you of course it's not just me. It's about Florence, that you are going to get an average about one email a week. So we try to
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Wayne Feiden: I'm David Drake.
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David Drake’s iPad: I think
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David Drake’s iPad: There's any just did an awesome job rebuilding North farmed road from Bridge Road up to the
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David Drake’s iPad: Up to the way we're aligned and it's it's really amazing. The changes that happened with that wrote one of the features that I seen our that there are four blinking
pedestal speed.
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David Drake’s iPad: weed out that are up there and it does a good job of keeping everyone at 35
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David Drake’s iPad: And helping them stay in line in downtown Florence, the streetlight mean the traffic lights to a pretty good job once you're in Florence of slowing calling traffic
but approaching from the west or approaching from the east.
477
01:14:51.360 --> 01:14:56.370
David Drake’s iPad: People are often speeding and certainly not driving at the
478
01:14:57.540 --> 01:14:59.490
David Drake’s iPad: Gym. The posted 20 mile an hour zone.
479
01:15:01.860 --> 01:15:17.040
David Drake’s iPad: And it, you know, and if the traffic people hit the traffic lights right they also are speeding downtown and I just like to suggest that perhaps one consideration
might be to insult to one in each side Route nine
480
01:15:18.150 --> 01:15:27.210
David Drake’s iPad: To remind people of the speed, they're going and how the how the City Police Department, choose to enforce that. It's up to them, but it pretty effective.
481
01:15:28.590 --> 01:15:29.430
Wayne Feiden: Okay, thank you.
482
01:15:40.170 --> 01:15:41.370
Wayne Feiden: Robert Ross here help
483
01:15:45.540 --> 01:15:49.890
Robert Ross: You meet yourself. Yes, it always takes me a while to find that unmute button.
484
01:15:51.270 --> 01:15:55.470
Robert Ross: I don't know if you change the screen or I did but we lost you.
485
01:15:57.030 --> 01:16:05.250
Robert Ross: I guess I want to speak to that, if you want to make downtown Florence better. You have to understand downtown Florence. It's, I think,
486
01:16:05.910 --> 01:16:14.970
Robert Ross: There's been a lot of people working really hard to make Florence unique community, our own not a duplication of another community, not a tiny Northampton, but Florence.
487
01:16:16.800 --> 01:16:27.570
Robert Ross: Some of the characteristics that are different about Florence's that we do not have any municipal parking in Florence, the only municipal parking, we have in Florence is
the street.
488
01:16:28.740 --> 01:16:29.760
Robert Ross: parallel parking
489
01:16:30.840 --> 01:16:46.680
Robert Ross: So to eliminate that would be an actual hardship in downtown for little businesses in Florence. So the street is not quite wide enough for bike lanes. We actually don't
have bike lanes in downtown Florence, we have shadows. There's just
490
01:16:48.240 --> 01:16:57.840
Robert Ross: Painted figures on the road to let you realize that they will be buying traffic in downtown floors, that would be great. And part of the way finding sizes. The
491
01:16:58.590 --> 01:17:02.730
Robert Ross: Parallel to Main Street. We have a terrific bike path that is a great way to
492
01:17:03.270 --> 01:17:08.640
Robert Ross: Commute in and out of downtown Florence and it would be great if we could highlight that and the way
493
01:17:09.000 --> 01:17:24.690
Robert Ross: And accentuate that. So this is the way you get into downtown Florence on your bike, you can you can come in if there's any place that we probably could really use bike
racks would be on the bike path so that you could cruise into town park your bike and then roll around town.
494
01:17:26.310 --> 01:17:40.680
Robert Ross: Somebody mentioned some Bob bike racks and Tom Ford's. There are about 14 bike racks in downtown Florence that are all privately owned and supplied by businesses or the
Florence business in civic association.
495
01:17:41.460 --> 01:17:50.190
Robert Ross: There is like racket foreign civic there's a bike rack and full circle. There's a bike rack at the diner. There's one at Coopers
496
01:17:50.850 --> 01:18:03.600
Robert Ross: There's one of the medical logins has one of their building for you. They are quite actually, there's probably more bike parking in downtown Florence. And there actually
isn't downtown Northampton, to be quite be quite honest with you.
497
01:18:04.980 --> 01:18:22.020
Robert Ross: But I really like, you know, I really would like to stress that instead of having wishes and things thinking the way it ought to be that you really need to experience downtown
Florence and look at it carefully to understand how it can be improved in me.
498
01:18:23.160 --> 01:18:31.410
Robert Ross: The biggest problem Florence's that there's been a lot of bad architecture dropped in it's dropped in over the years. So
499
01:18:31.980 --> 01:18:42.060
Robert Ross: Hopefully with zoning corrections that we will curb some of that like Kurt mentioned earlier 100 mainstream was a great idea to duplicate the
500
01:18:42.570 --> 01:18:49.800
Robert Ross: Parsons block and the good one block to finish off that corner, but it was, you know, in the great idea of
501
01:18:50.250 --> 01:18:56.790
Robert Ross: Yes, it should be on the sidewalk, but it got literally put on the sidewalk where unfortunately
502
01:18:57.300 --> 01:19:05.580
Robert Ross: The sidewalk in front of that building is only five feet wide at the corner. It is a 10 foot sidewalk. But the handicap ramp was an
503
01:19:06.060 --> 01:19:10.260
Robert Ross: afterthought to go into the building of the building was built backwards in reality.
504
01:19:10.860 --> 01:19:24.240
Robert Ross: So half of the sidewalk, they've given up to that end cap preamp so these little things of the things that really need to be paid attention to. And I guess I also want to
point out, which brought it up before over and over again is the duplicity
505
01:19:25.890 --> 01:19:46.620
Robert Ross: Yeah, maybe a park central and downtime for us would be great. But there are three parks in downtown Florence and many parcels of park like land, including the library,
the cemetery Florence Savings Bank has large parked behind their, their behind their bank in the box. Um,
506
01:19:47.940 --> 01:19:52.020
Robert Ross: And also very medical so just want to point those things out.
507
01:19:53.370 --> 01:19:55.320
Wayne Feiden: Thank you, Rachel Europe.
508
01:19:59.130 --> 01:20:00.570
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): Yeah. Hi. I just wanted to
509
01:20:02.550 --> 01:20:06.090
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): Support a few ideas that have been put out there. I really
510
01:20:07.380 --> 01:20:12.450
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): Agree. What about around the around the sidewalk, the issues around the sidewalks and those kind of low hanging fruit there.
511
01:20:12.870 --> 01:20:19.860
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): Are senior population in North Hampton in our region is set to grow exponentially explode really
512
01:20:20.250 --> 01:20:30.120
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): And so I every, you know, all of our planning has to be done with the lens that we're going to have a very large senior community and a healthy senior community
and a healthy community actually has a
513
01:20:30.660 --> 01:20:43.380
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): Has a lot to the accessibility in terms of the intergenerational use so I support bike lanes Elena brought that up. I think that's great. I don't think they
have to be at odds to think about
514
01:20:43.860 --> 01:20:49.110
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): You know that the fact that our population is going to be getting older, but we also want to be attracting
515
01:20:49.860 --> 01:20:58.530
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): young families. And so I think, and that's good for seniors as well. So it has to be accessible for seniors and that's the bottom line, because that's where
we're going.
516
01:20:59.220 --> 01:21:05.220
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): I think a park. You know the thing about parks that you know when you have young children, a few blocks is a long way. So,
517
01:21:06.090 --> 01:21:13.590
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): Having a place structure. So maybe either looking at how dynamic those parks are or how to support young families kind of hanging out.
518
01:21:13.950 --> 01:21:26.370
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): That would be good for businesses in Florida centered have that. So, you know, if you're important center meadow streets, kind of a long way. If you have a
three year old who's whining. But, you know, maybe I'm going to get older, um,
519
01:21:26.970 --> 01:21:35.820
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): And so yeah, I think. I also want to really applaud all the trash picker uppers. I always hear this. I'm in Florida leave mostly but you know thank you to
Chris and Kurt
520
01:21:36.180 --> 01:21:54.330
Rachel Maiore, (she, her): That's fabulous. And I wanted to take, take a moment to thank you for that. And just to say, you know, I think we could use better lighting and just let's
make sure that it follows the dark sky guidelines. So we're not you know impacting our are migrating birds and such. But yeah, thank you.
521
01:21:55.080 --> 01:21:55.890
Pick Rick
522
01:21:57.180 --> 01:22:01.860
Wayne Feiden: Aaron, I was driving didn't lower your hand before, if you have something else to add, so you're off with you have more to say.
523
01:22:09.780 --> 01:22:10.440
Erin: Hi, Wayne
524
01:22:11.160 --> 01:22:24.870
Erin: Parent. So I was born and raised in this city. And I actually lived on Lucas straight and David Murphy can tell you that because he lived on South Main Street before they moved
down to Elm Street.
525
01:22:25.530 --> 01:22:39.030
Erin: So when we were growing up, we not only had Trinity row we had mains field. We had our cane. Um, and we hit Escape skating rink up in the center, Florence, where the business association
is right now.
526
01:22:39.660 --> 01:22:50.490
Erin: And the Business Association does an excellent job they put up Christmas decorations. They do a share. Greg prayed for the kids at Halloween.
527
01:22:51.000 --> 01:23:09.690
Erin: This association does more for Florence and anybody else in this city and it's certainly not the mayor, I can tell you that right now. We have a lot in this center. It's just that
a lot of you don't realize it and you aren't utilizing it
528
01:23:10.920 --> 01:23:17.130
Erin: We love being able to go to the playgrounds. We worked everywhere, or we rode our bikes.
529
01:23:18.120 --> 01:23:34.710
Erin: And we went to look Park. We went to Maine sealed. We went Archana. We went to our friends house we played well in the side we're out in the side streets. You can't do that now.
But Florence is a place for families.
530
01:23:35.880 --> 01:23:52.260
Erin: And I think that's what we need to concentrate on in the center of Florence, we've lost that and we need to bring that back, but we need to support our businesses at the same time.
So you guys, you know, let us know what you think.
531
01:23:53.790 --> 01:23:56.760
Erin: But we've been here and we aren't going anywhere.
532
01:23:58.020 --> 01:23:59.220
Erin: So, thank you.
533
01:23:59.670 --> 01:24:09.750
Wayne Feiden: Thank you. So we're getting close to the end, I want to respect your all time. And so we're going to end it seven is anybody who hasn't spoken yet who
534
01:24:10.980 --> 01:24:11.970
Wants to speak.
535
01:24:22.050 --> 01:24:22.920
Kayce Warren: Can I say one thing.
536
01:24:23.010 --> 01:24:27.750
Kayce Warren: Gregor, just real quick. We talked about dining on sidewalks and stuff.
537
01:24:28.830 --> 01:24:35.730
Kayce Warren: Just like you know Florence pizza friendlies and the pie bar all have dining behind their buildings around the side of their buildings.
538
01:24:36.210 --> 01:24:48.150
Kayce Warren: And JJ is actually has a deck upstairs in the back side. This past year, we did a big tent for them because the cold coffee thing. So there are places. Eat outside. They're
just not on the sidewalk.
539
01:24:49.500 --> 01:24:51.960
Kayce Warren: So just something to think about. I mean,
540
01:24:53.370 --> 01:24:53.790
Kayce Warren: That's all.
541
01:24:54.900 --> 01:24:56.970
Wayne Feiden: Thanks, Dylan Europe.
542
01:24:59.550 --> 01:25:00.300
Dillon Sussman: Good evening.
543
01:25:02.400 --> 01:25:16.110
Dillon Sussman: It strikes me hearing a lot of the comments at night that these are just. These are the basics of what makes a walkable village center, you know, sidewalks that are safe
to walk on trees that give you your shade benches, where you can sit
544
01:25:19.050 --> 01:25:19.860
Dillon Sussman: And
545
01:25:21.570 --> 01:25:23.700
Dillon Sussman: I fully support the idea of
546
01:25:24.960 --> 01:25:26.910
Dillon Sussman: Making change to
547
01:25:28.380 --> 01:25:33.780
Dillon Sussman: To meet those to meet the basics. But I also see that there are some places in Florence, where there's
548
01:25:35.310 --> 01:25:46.830
Dillon Sussman: limited space. And they're competing needs. And I think it'd be worth investing some of the money, some small portion of money to try and do a really quick.
549
01:25:47.490 --> 01:26:05.310
Dillon Sussman: Plan to try to figure out what to do in those places of conflict and I'm thinking particularly of the of the space between basically Valley medical group. And probably
you know Chestnut Street on the south side of the street where the sidewalk is narrow
550
01:26:06.990 --> 01:26:17.700
Dillon Sussman: There isn't really space for street trees on the street side and the sidewalk largely becomes impossible in the winter when the snow builds up
551
01:26:19.470 --> 01:26:19.980
Dillon Sussman: So,
552
01:26:21.780 --> 01:26:34.620
Dillon Sussman: I think not doing a full engineering plan, but doing some quick plan to figure out where benches would go what the best location for trees is
553
01:26:36.810 --> 01:26:46.470
Dillon Sussman: That can be implemented, both by the city and by the amazing people that are on the call tonight from Florence civic and this desolate business owners and other
554
01:26:47.730 --> 01:26:48.900
Dillon Sussman: Florida Keys. Yes.
555
01:26:51.060 --> 01:27:01.050
Wayne Feiden: Okay, thanks. JOHN AND. And of course, I think you all know it's always depressing. How far $80,000 does not go. You did not a big, but I didn't for any of these things.
556
01:27:02.520 --> 01:27:07.830
Wayne Feiden: However, you have before. So I'll let you talk quickly but you try to keep your remarks quickly.
557
01:27:08.910 --> 01:27:15.210
Heather Craig (she, he, they): Yeah, it's really easy. I think I know why that garbage can keeps disappearing from the bus stop in front of La med
558
01:27:15.990 --> 01:27:25.350
Heather Craig (she, he, they): Because the Pvt puts the garbage can. Under the bill shelter in the section that's free were for the wheelchair to be in the shelter.
559
01:27:25.710 --> 01:27:35.340
Heather Craig (she, he, they): And then they get called on it and they have to remove it so to fix that problem. I think we actually have to negotiate with La med to have a maintained
garbage can, on their property.
560
01:27:36.540 --> 01:27:38.340
Wayne Feiden: Great. Okay. Thank you, Heather.
561
01:27:39.600 --> 01:27:47.760
Wayne Feiden: Yeah, when they came up in the survey instead of that shelters all on Valley medical property down City property. So we couldn't do anything here without their approval.
562
01:27:49.200 --> 01:27:58.710
Wayne Feiden: Okay, it is five or seven. So I think I'm going to end the formal form. This has been incredibly helpful. You probably spent about $5 million tonight.
563
01:28:00.030 --> 01:28:01.350
Wayne Feiden: So we have to figure that out.
564
01:28:02.490 --> 01:28:12.060
Wayne Feiden: I'm not running anywhere. So I'm going to end the meeting but haven wants to stick around. Have any questions, feel feel free, but I'll let you all go thank you so much
for taking partners.
565
01:28:17.190 --> 01:28:18.120
Erin: Have a nice night.
566
01:28:36.210 --> 01:28:45.330
Wendy Foxmyn: So Wayne. Yeah, um, I'd already emailed you about that, since, not really. I see very much why this isn't very pertinent
567
01:28:45.930 --> 01:28:55.800
Wendy Foxmyn: To the street scaping but I asked Wayne because people said to me, Why don't we do something about empty storefronts and they were talking about downtown Northampton.
568
01:28:56.310 --> 01:29:08.790
Wendy Foxmyn: More than Florence. So I said I would inquire about any regulations rules policies intentions goals that there are two dealing with empty storefronts
569
01:29:10.350 --> 01:29:17.310
Wendy Foxmyn: Not really, in terms of finding tenants, but so much about utilizing them and I'm just wondering if you know
570
01:29:18.810 --> 01:29:24.900
Wendy Foxmyn: That's all I'm asked about rules, regulations, policies, I have some from other communities. I'm just wondering what the city has done.
571
01:29:25.680 --> 01:29:28.950
Wendy Foxmyn: Yes, right. Other people. If you have questions about the street scaping so
572
01:29:29.940 --> 01:29:40.560
Wayne Feiden: I can answer quickly. We haven't done any we flirted with something, you know, some communities do if your spaces empty for a long time, you have to make it, you know,
provide a pop up.
573
01:29:41.580 --> 01:29:49.530
Wayne Feiden: I have to say, having looked at some of the communities to do it to have not, it's often a feel good ordinance and I think we're careful about feel good ordinances that
don't
574
01:29:50.040 --> 01:29:57.510
Wayne Feiden: Actually make a difference that's out there. One of the things I'm interested in, and David and if you want to pine this because he's trying to real estate more than I
do.
575
01:29:57.900 --> 01:30:05.220
Wayne Feiden: I know for free standing buildings. The argument is always made that there's actually a major center for landlords that
576
01:30:05.730 --> 01:30:17.070
Wayne Feiden: Their fire insurance goes up at the spaces vacant and so they actually want to fail when it's not. It's because they can't, I don't know if that's true for multi use buildings
have enough that's individual insurance companies.
577
01:30:18.150 --> 01:30:25.680
Wayne Feiden: But so far, we haven't found a model which really satisfying. It's not really just a feel good piece. I think our focus more is
578
01:30:26.040 --> 01:30:35.370
Wayne Feiden: Sort of the economic development focus, how to make places desirable, so people want to come in the first place and the baby giving us this money for, for instance, and
other investments that we're making.
579
01:30:35.910 --> 01:30:44.280
Wendy Foxmyn: Well, I just wanted to check in with you about that. I think there are a group of people that I just found out about have come to me who are be interested in my sound you
know about what Pittsfield did
580
01:30:45.390 --> 01:30:57.180
Wendy Foxmyn: You know you probably are familiar with that program, which is, you know, something to think about as we move forward into I think some dark days in terms of small businesses
instead. Okay.
581
01:30:57.210 --> 01:30:58.080
Wayne Feiden: Thank you.
582
01:30:58.260 --> 01:30:59.820
Wendy Foxmyn: Or Arts Council and others have
583
01:30:59.820 --> 01:31:09.000
Wayne Feiden: Reached out to specific building owners to say, would you allow pop up, you know, an art pop up space to occupy the building and every landlord server and some do most
584
01:31:10.320 --> 01:31:10.710
Things for me.
585
01:31:12.390 --> 01:31:13.020
iPad: Anyway,
586
01:31:25.200 --> 01:31:26.460
Wayne Feiden: Any other comments.
587
01:31:32.460 --> 01:31:36.210
Wayne Feiden: I see rich sitting quietly because richest woman is going to inherit this report.
588
01:31:37.440 --> 01:31:38.520
Wayne Feiden: I thought you'd be speaking right
589
01:31:42.960 --> 01:31:43.320
Yeah.
590
01:31:45.030 --> 01:31:53.190
Dillon Sussman: I wanted to say one thing to that's not actually related to the streets. It's on the park topic, and it's not to Wayne. It's to
591
01:31:54.630 --> 01:32:01.920
Dillon Sussman: To Robert Ross and the other foreign civic and Business Association people in the long timers, which is that I think part of the issue is
592
01:32:04.110 --> 01:32:16.320
Dillon Sussman: For relatively new people like myself, we don't actually know which of these park like private properties are semi public and which are fully private
593
01:32:17.460 --> 01:32:28.470
Dillon Sussman: So the floor and civic and Business Association. For example, I know I can go there when there's a concert, but I'm not really comfortable hanging out there when there's
a lot of public again.
594
01:32:29.760 --> 01:32:35.010
Dillon Sussman: I don't consider that public space right it's it's a private organizations face.
595
01:32:36.480 --> 01:32:56.400
Dillon Sussman: Or the Florence bank park like space. It's, you know, not really public. So I think some effort. And I guess maybe I'll have to volunteer to be part of this to figure
out how to mark those spaces so that people know which ones they can use and which ones they can't would be worthwhile.
596
01:32:57.450 --> 01:33:00.270
Wayne Feiden: And delay, my dad. If we do way finding program that could
597
01:33:00.270 --> 01:33:00.960
Dillon Sussman: Be part of its
598
01:33:00.990 --> 01:33:01.470
Wayne Feiden: Way finding
599
01:33:02.670 --> 01:33:06.420
Wayne Feiden: The Florence, which shows green spots in Florence civics well and
600
01:33:06.720 --> 01:33:07.440
Dillon Sussman: That's what yeah
601
01:33:08.640 --> 01:33:08.970
Dillon Sussman: Right.
602
01:33:10.350 --> 01:33:12.570
Wayne Feiden: David, your, your electronic hand is up to. Do you want
603
01:33:12.570 --> 01:33:13.110
Dillon Sussman: To listen
604
01:33:19.980 --> 01:33:22.470
Wayne Feiden: And Robert your electronic hand is up. Did you want to say.
605
01:33:23.970 --> 01:33:24.270
You're
606
01:33:29.490 --> 01:33:34.620
Robert Ross: Sorry, I didn't know if you unmuted. Everybody or while but the forum was right now.
607
01:33:35.100 --> 01:33:35.970
Wayne Feiden: We're in for a while now.
608
01:33:37.140 --> 01:33:49.620
Robert Ross: Let's take a poll was it when I put my hand up, it was five minutes ago. Um, the problem with the bus stop, which I am responsible for the location of that bus stop. I take
full responsibility for that.
609
01:33:50.910 --> 01:34:10.830
Robert Ross: Is that PV TA has no trash as a business, you know, funny, they are they are non participatory in the business community, you know, if they were any other storefront business,
they would have that was serving people that needed trash, they would be responsible for their trash, bro.
610
01:34:16.830 --> 01:34:20.610
Wayne Feiden: You're frozen. So we just kind of frozen. Go ahead.
611
01:34:20.700 --> 01:34:34.800
Robert Ross: That's why that trash barrel disappears because it gets filled up and doesn't get empty. So if it serves no purpose. What if you have a trash crowds sitting there overflowing
onto onto the onto the sidewalk your
612
01:34:36.000 --> 01:34:46.350
Robert Ross: City to put a permanent trash pile and actually have the pedal people put it on their route, but it has to be part of it has to be part of their route which which at this
point it's not. Yeah, I agree.
613
01:34:49.170 --> 01:34:52.560
Wayne Feiden: David did you find that your hand is up. Yes.
614
01:34:53.730 --> 01:35:02.580
Robert Ross: Oh, and we don't have any vacant storefronts and downtown Florence. I don't know if you've noticed, but we've weathered the storm pretty well here. And I think it's partially
615
01:35:03.120 --> 01:35:16.440
Robert Ross: It's come back what what the thing that's different about Florence's it's more of a service community. And I think because of that are storefronts have weathered better
than downtown Northampton, yeah. Agreed.
616
01:35:17.220 --> 01:35:26.010
Wendy Foxmyn: To people know that tandem bagels is coming into the former freckled Fox, which was the former I forget, but
617
01:35:26.130 --> 01:35:26.850
Up and top
618
01:35:31.830 --> 01:35:36.390
Wayne Feiden: Okay, I'm going to end the meeting. Thank you all so much for coming, this has been useful.
619
01:35:36.570 --> 01:35:37.140
Robert Ross: Thanks. Great.
620
01:35:37.170 --> 01:35:38.370
Molly Hale: Night. Thanks.