Among the projects that Town of Plattsburgh Supervisor Michael Cashman holds dear is an effort to create a Battlefield Memorial Gateway Park. After a ribbon cutting celebrating completion of Phase One of that project this month, Cashman talked to WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley about that project and other issues facing the town:
Phase One was really about the baseline infrastructure allowing us to be in strong footing for Phase Two. And we've achieved that. But we also were able to establish the Purple Heart Trail that connects to the Terry Gordon Bike Path and the Empire State Trail. So as we transition into Phase Two, Phase Two is about seeing the amenities and features of the park begin to be built. We are still actively fundraising and seeking opportunities for grants. But we've been dogged in our approach for that. We're already having conversations with state agencies and partners as well as some private businesses. But this is also a direct call to the community to remind people that this is a real project and it's going to take civic organizations, businesses, our youth to come forward to help us raise funds so that we can honor our veterans. And, you know, I've made the statement before the North Country has a really strong tradition of sending our veterans down to D.C. to see monuments built in their honor. Let us have a space here for our North Country veterans that is an absolutely premier space, but also goes a step further by allowing us to tell the American stories of the North Country right here on Lake Champlain, dating back to the American Revolution, the Battle of Valcour, Crab Island, and of course, the former Air Force Base,
When you say Phase Two and Phase Three will implement the amenities, build the amenities, for the Gateway Memorial Park, what are those?
Sure. So there's a number of features. One of the first ones is the Remembrance Plaza, or often referred to referred to as the view deck. Think of a large oversized space that gives you a sense of almost being on the deck of a ship where kids can come together with teachers and learn about the history or some type of, you know, Lecture Series. Then we're going to have a space for veterans to assemble. Where they can come together and share stories and to walk in solitude. But then we're also going to have a space for children and there is a children's adventure play area. The idea is to activate the imaginations of our children so that they lean more into history and take a lifelong interest in who we are as Americans and what occurred here in the North Country. And then one of the last features on the inland portion is going to be an amphitheater. A space where you can imagine during Memorial Day or Flag Day, or maybe you know groups might do something like the reading of the Declaration of Independence. So this inland space has been used to activate different segments of the way that we talk about history, interpret history, share history. And then that other is as we transition into a Phase Three where we look at the jetties, the jetties were formerly used by the Plattsburgh Air Force Base with their fueling approach, and those jetties directly look across from Crab Island, which is connected to this project, and just south of it Valcour Island. And those three points are what we call the Triangle of History.
It's been a little while since I've talked to you. I believe in that time the town has completed its budget. What are the highlights in the budget?
The highlight of the budget is for the eighth consecutive year is that we are under the tax cap. We continue to use a modified zero-based budgeting approach that prioritizes infrastructure, that prioritizes public private partnerships, such as the one that we're talking about today. And we are well positioned to continue to work with businesses to invest or reinvest in the community. We just adopted a new subdivision plan that hadn't been updated since 1978. It was before I was born. So as we like to say is that we plan the work and we work the plan. And our budget is a reflection of that.
Now speaking of a plan, you have that development initiative that you posted online, actually a few months ago. Are you getting reaction from that? Are you getting responses and businesses or industries interested in the area from that?
Yeah. It's been hugely successful in so many different ways. One is we want to thank our community for responding to the Community Development Survey because, you know, this really is about approaching community development based upon what the community is interested in. And there's no guarantee that when you look out to businesses that they will come to Plattsburgh. But we have a unique story and the conversations that we're having with developers are very keen to learn more. And that's exactly what this developers guide has been about. We have now sent it to over 300 site selection specialists. We've identified 31 specific businesses that the community drew their specific attention to. In fact, there was a recent announcement that Jersey Mike's is coming to the Town of Plattsburgh and that business was actually identified in the early work that we were doing. So while we were in the process of launching the developer's guide, as we were doing some work, that kind of prescribed how we were going to approach it. So it happened in parallel paths. So we're going to continue and I think that, you know, the next 14 to 16 months there's some really exciting things on the horizon.
Do we have any industry or, you know, larger businesses than say retail planning to open? I mean, I know you can't necessarily give details. But are we going to see anything like that in the near future?
Yeah, what I can tell you is that we're having a conversation with a wide spectrum. The Town of Plattsburgh takes a mixed economy approach. You need retail. You need manufacturing. You need housing. And we're also having lots of conversations with developers, not just outside of the area. We're having conversations with local developers to and that's really important to know. Because what we're looking to do is to get people to build things that will continue to move the region forward but also sustain the region. The Town of Plattsburgh has seen significant growth in the last eight years that I've been in office. But we are standing on a legacy of years before that, as well. So it's about progress. But it's also, as I said before, it's about planning the work and working the plan. And we have the plans and 2024 and beyond is very, very bright for us.
We are less than six months away from a major astronomical event that will affect this area. What's the town doing to plan for the total solar eclipse that will occur in April?
The Town of Plattsburgh has been waving the flag for the last five years. In fact, it was one of the early people in the region to remind people that this total solar eclipse is going to be occurring here. The town is well positioned. We have over 1,000 hotel rooms. Many of those hotels are actually getting booked up already, if you talk with the folks in that industry. We have collaborated with the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau. They have a well-developed website out there. We're going to be working with our parks department to have that as a great public space. You know, this is one of those occurrences where it's not about us planning events. The event is occurring above us. I think a lot of communities are, you know, creating additional activities. And there are some things that are occurring over at SUNY Plattsburgh and other things in the region. What we want to do is to roll out the red carpet to remind people that the North Country is a place to visit not just as a one-time occurrence or a four-season location. And we're looking forward to having people come and visit us. But we also want to remind people here locally, that this is an event that will unify us as a community as well. But I have some friends in some other regions around the state. And it's just it's really exciting. I mean, it's there are people that actually will chase these. They will go around the globe going to different occurrences and this is something that will not occur in the greater Plattsburgh region for another 400 plus years. So when we say this is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence it truly is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Michael Cashman is a Democrat who took office in January 2016 and won a third four-year term in the November election.
