GENEVA — Matt Horn said the city has a plan of what it wants to do to create an even more dynamic downtown for both visitors and residents.
Now it has $10 million to help make that vision a reality, said Geneva’s city manager, who on Friday morning was still basking in the aftermath of the city’s winning bid under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which is awarding 10 communities — one in each economic development council region — $10 million. Besides Geneva, other winners so far have included Plattsburgh and Elmira. More winners are expected to be announced in the coming days.
“We know our challenges,” Horn said. “We rarely have the resources to address them.”
As for ideas of how to spend the money? Let’s just say he’s getting plenty of suggestions.
“My (email) inbox is full of ideas,” from residents and members of the business community, Horn joked. “My hope is that we have done a lot of planning and let’s not reinvent something.”
“We have the plan in place,” he continued. “We’ve spent the last 10 years developing a plan for downtown Geneva.”
He pointed to the city’s draft comprehensive plan, which touches on the city’s vision for the future, with a heavy focus on downtown development. A revised plan was released on Friday, and it is on target for adoption by the City Council in August. It includes, as did the application for the state money submitted by the city, a call for greater connectivity between downtown and the lakefront, where a four-lane highway divides the two areas.
Horn sees no reason why the $10 million state grant should change those priorities. However, the funds could spring some new ideas within the framework for downtown improvements. The ideas in the plan, said Horn, “are subject to refinement.”
In the meantime, Horn and City Council are still on a high after the $10 million win for the city, which beat out communities in the Finger Lakes economic development region, including Canandaigua, Rochester and Batavia.
Cuomo announced that Geneva had won at the city’s Visitors and Events Center Wednesday evening, with Seneca Lake as the backdrop. It’s an asset, said Cuomo, that Finger Lakes residents should never take for granted.
Mayor Ron Alcock, who was unable to attend the event, said the $10 million award “is a critical investment that will bolster our city’s job growth, promote diversity and entrepreneurship and transform Geneva into an economic engine for the entire Finger Lakes region.”
As for that greater connectivity from downtown to the lakefront, where a host of improvements are underway, Horn acknowledged that many residents — and even some Council members — would love to see a pedestrian bridge.
That sounds great, said Horn, but if the city had to foot the bill with the money it is getting from the state, it wouldn’t leave much cash for anything else.
“That $10 million? We’re done,” said Horn describing that scenario.
Beyond that, Horn said, a pedestrian bridge could be problematic because of the height needed to cross the highway. That height would make accessibility an issue.
He said reconfiguring the four-lane highway by creating narrower lane widths, a grassy median and 7-foot bike lanes on each side may be a better idea. Those measures would slow down traffic and provide a measure of safety that people crossing 5&20 don’t enjoy right now, he argued. It would also require a smaller investment from the city, and it’s likely the state would kick in as well, he said.
Further, said Horn, using all the money on a single project would not bring the economic returns the city needs from the state money.
The goal is to make sure the money meets a number of objectives, he said, including addressing the city’s high poverty rate. About 25 percent of the city’s residents live below the poverty line, a number that stunned him.
“You see the great revitalization of the past 20 years … Then you see this poverty number and it punches you right in the gut,” he said.
The improvements downtown are great, said Horn, but the city can’t leave such a large segment of its population out of its resurgence.
“How do we make it inclusive?” is the question, said Horn.
One way, he said, is to provide decent, affordable housing downtown. While the city is enjoying a boon in what are called “market rate” apartments, some of the rents of those rehabbed dwellings can go for $1,400, he said, explaining that is not affordable for a large portion of Geneva’s populace, but is for higher-income urban dwellers that are helping to propel the city’s growth as a center of fine food and drink.
There are sites where affordable, decent apartment housing could be created, he said.
Additionally, some of the funds could be used to provide a greater pool of capital for entrepreneurs with ideas but without the capital needed to start a business downtown, Horn said, explaining that there are few downtown businesses owned by people of color in Geneva.
Not only should capital be available to them, but the city must devise new ways to reach those communities about its efforts to expand business opportunities for people from minority communities.
“You will see the needle move on the poverty rate,” he said.
There are also pockets near downtown that are “food deserts,” meaning residents have little access to fresh food, said Horn. Some of these folks don’t have transportation to get to either Wegmans or Tops on Hamilton Street, he said.
The goal would be to see if a smaller grocery store could be built in the downtown area. Another would be to help facilitate public transportation to the grocery stores, said Horn.
“We’ve got to get these folks connected with fresh food,” he said.
As for the politics, Horn expects City Council to agree that Geneva needs to stay on the path it has forged with its focus on lakefront development and downtown and the synergy between the two.
He said City Council has raised no big objections to a large portion of the draft comprehensive plan’s goals. And despite different political persuasions, Council has generally come together when it comes to revitalization initiatives, he said. He expects the same with the $10 million influx in funds.
As for his message to Council, Horn said he will encourage them to allow the consultant the city is required to hire (money is included in the grant for the work) to begin their work with Horn and his staff to set the framework of initiatives under the $10 million grant.
Either way, said Gerling, the grant award was truly a team effort.
“I was thrilled (when she heard the news),” said Gerling, but not just for city staff. Public-private partnership has been key to the city’s success in remaking itself after years of decline.
“So many people have been working so hard to make Geneva thrive again,” she said.
Sidebar
Horn, staff getting some love
Geneva City Manager Matt Horn and his colleagues are garnering considerable praise from Council members:
• Said Councilor Paul D’Amico, R-Second Ward: “In a tremendously competitive arena, City Manager Matt Horn, Sage Gerling (director of neighborhood services) and all city staff put together a successful $10 million grant application. The skills of our grant writers obviously stood out here. The second half of this success story has been the vision of City Council over the last eight years under the leadership of Mayor Alcock. All our small success stories added up to a big win against some strong competition.”
• Said Jason Hagerman, D-Fifth Ward: “I mainly wish to credit our city manager, Matt Horn, for putting Geneva in a position to be competitive, and Sage Gerling for her work on the application itself. Matt has worked diligently putting our plans into practice, and New York State recognizes this and therefore is confident that the investments made in Geneva will be managed well.
“Governor Cuomo indicated the importance of upstate New York, and the greater connectivity we wish for between Seneca Lake and our downtown core. I’m humbled that he recognizes the leadership role that Geneva plays as the heart of the Finger Lakes region.”
• And Councilman Ken Camera, D-Fourth Ward, also praised Horn, Gerling and staff for their work.
“It’s (the application) stellar work, and he’s a gifted writer. Matt brought it all together and focused it.”
