It's 'make or break' time for Monroe

A newly formed chamber, planner and architect are part of village’s revitalization efforts MONROE - Village of Monroe Mayor Jim Purcell says an “equilateral triangle” of experts will soon be joining forces with village officials to make major inroads in the revitalization efforts of the Village of Monroe. The recent establishment of the Greater Monroe Chamber of Commerce is the first in that side of equal length, he said, with a soon-to be hired business/economic/residential development planner and architect to be the other two. After months of review, the Comprehensive Committee will soon be selecting a planner - essentially an engineer with business/ economic development/residential development planning expertise - from three candidates, to begin the process of reshaping the village. Along with that, the committee will be hiring an architect to help redesign the “streetscape and exterior building designs” of the downtown area. A committee of four government officials and two private sector individuals will make that decision. It’s something Purcell has been working on for a while and he’s unabashedly enthusiastic when talking about the how all of this will positively impact the village. 100 businesses and individuals “My take right now on this downtown is that it’s 'average,’ it’s pretty much status quo,” Purcell said Thursday morning. “It (the downtown) hasn’t reinvented itself both in the government sector and in the business sector. The formation of the chamber and getting business owners involved in combination with the planner and getting the architect hired and going, that is what will start to turn this place around. You need more than one entity to make that happen.” Purcell repeatedly stressed how important the chamber is to the village. Already, about 100 businesses and individuals have expressed an interest in joining the chamber and the membership drive will first launch in the next couple weeks. “The chamber has a voice that can speak to government on what their issues are,” he said. “They’re a key lobby group. “ Purcell used parking as an example. “They came to us and asked, 'Maybe you can do something about parking?’”Purcell said. “People are complaining they don’t like having to put money in the meters to run in to pick up dry cleaning or to pick up a pizza. It’s just one more thing (to deter business). It’s not business-friendly. So I’m going to do something about this. We’re going to eliminate some of the meters in front of some of the shops so people can have a few minutes of free parking. I know it’s a little thing, but if you can make those changes, this will help businesses to grow.” Purcell knows zoning isn’t business friendly, and expects the planner to propose changes the village will adopt to make a difference in the village’s business and economic development. “The implementation of a comprehensive business and economic plan will turn Monroe around,” he said. “We want people to shop local, that helps subsidize our tax base.” Modeled after Warwick Purcell added he already has a couple of businesses ready to hear what the soon-to-be hired architect will suggest. “I’ve got two businesses ready to reinvest in their buildings,” he said. “But when they heard we’re hiring an architect, they said, 'Hey let’s see what that person says. I don’t have to spend money on my own architect.’ They liked that.” And Purcell’s not shy about noting whose success he’s looking to duplicate. “We are absolutely modeling ourselves after the Village of Warwick,” he said. “I’ve met many times with Mike (Newhard, Warwick village mayor). He’s telling me we’re doing all the right things, and telling me the things we want to do are the things Warwick did 15 years ago. They reminded us to not take the big steps, start with the little steps. Our goal is to benefit from each other and what we can offer to the public. Our common goal is to have Orange County be the best county in New York State.” Purcell had no explanation as to why such efforts were not pushed with the same intensity in the past. “I’ve been living here for 20 years and I could never understand why and I don’t know why,” he said. “But the past is the past and we’re moving forward. The people here know this is really a 'make or break’ time for us.”