Hardwick Downtown News September
In preparation for the new tree plantings provided by the Community Tree Planting Grant the landscapers are beginning the removal of the sickly, dead trees on town properties today. Keep an eye out for the stakes with white dig safe markers around them to identify the spots where new healthy trees will start to be seen on Town properties in downtown at the Town House, Depot, LVRT Trailhead, Memorial Building, Peace Park and along Wolcott Street. The 17 private property owners who have adopted trees will see their new trees planted as well. All of the 30 trees will be delivered on September 15th and all will be planted in the following couple of weeks. We will post signs on Town properties and any private spots who want them to identify the new trees and include their species for all to see:).
Congratulations are in order! Main Street had a significant development this week with the closing of the sale of the former Flower Basket building. The Civic Standard is the new owner of the 3-story building and looks forward to bringing folks together for family-style meals, more accessible live music performances, an upstairs cafe’ run by local teenagers after school, a year-round costume library, ample studio space for the creation of new shows, and more. They haven’t announced their plans for the historic former Gazette building just yet but HDP has expressed our interest in identifying ways to work with them to develop a plan to go forward with preservation and restoration of the oldest building in our downtown.
The HDP Personnel Committee met to complete the job description for posting our new part time staff position: Administrative Coordinator. We look forward to posting the position in the coming week with a September 30th deadline for applications. We plan to post widely, both online and around town, with the hope that the ideal candidate to support the sustainability of Hardwick businesses and advance the mission of the organization will apply.
My fingers are crossed for another stretch of warm days so the Town can touch up the crosswalks in downtown. The Road Forman said at last nights Select Board meeting that there is enough paint to do that if weather permits. Also during the meeting last night, I asked Opie about the markings that showed up last week on the sidewalks outside of the Clip Joint and around the corner. These are apparently marks where borings will occur to test for hazardous waste testing around the fuel oil spill area last year. The Town has been assured that the sidewalks will be restored to the original condition after the testing is complete.
With the nearly complete Egress & Accessibility addition to the historic Hardwick Town House, discussions about planning the return of the Hardwick Town Meeting to its original location are underway. The Select Board will be enlisting the help of local organizations to collaborate to grow attendance by making the meeting more accessible and engaging. The Town Office will meet with the Town Clerk and likely initiate an online survey to begin the wider discussion.
