Liberty is taking big steps forward

By TOM KANE and DAVID HULSE

	TRR photo by Dave Hulse Cornell professor Ken Reardon introduces the Friday program at the Liberty Theater. (Click for larger image)

LIBERTY, NY — Last year, Liberty philanthropist Alan Gerry traveled to Cornell University to learn more about his apple trees. He learned about a lot more than trees when he ran into Associate Professor Ken Reardon of Cornell’s Department of City and Regional Planning.

After a conversation with Reardon, Gerry decided to contract with the department to study the Village of Liberty and come up with a plan for regeneration.

The Village of Liberty has been buzzing ever since.

Reardon’s team of professionals, faculty and students came to Liberty to conduct a survey involving teams of residents and to start a process that will focus mainly, though not solely, on economic development.

The project seeks to involve all members of the Liberty community in a process that will “evaluate the village’s current strengths and weaknesses as well as future trends, develop a shared vision for the future, define near-term action projects and long-term strategies to achieve community goals, and take action to make the community’s vision a reality.”

Five teams made up of residents, business people, municipal, county officials and Cornell staff and students met on Saturday, November 8 at three locations and started to lay out the future of Liberty.

It was the culmination of three days of efforts by the Liberty teams.

On Friday night, residents turned out to get a first glimpse of the data collected by Reardon’s teams in their survey of the village. What they found was a community that likes where it lives, is very active in civic activities and has a good stock of largely well maintained housing and commercial properties.

But residents said it is also a village in need of more and better jobs, a sound Main Street economy, more public transportation and programs to involve community youth.

Resident Susan Hamlin said she hoped to see people thinking “outside the box” during the process. “If it’s a wish list, wish big,” she said.

Business owner Althea Markin looked forward to a vision that would bring people of different races and ethnicity together. “We use different seasoning in food to make it tasty. Why can’t we do the same in our lives?”

The first phase of the economic development analysis will examine regional economic trends, conduct studies to understand the current status of Liberty’s economy, and explore opportunities for growth in areas such as tourism and light industry.

The next phase will start to implement projects in areas like small business development and issues like affordable housing and youth development.

The Cornell project, underwritten by the Gerry Foundation, will be completed in one year.