Meg Walker, Candidate for Village Trustee: Platform Paper

By Margaret O. "Meg" Walker

As Trustee, Meg Walker intends to take proactive steps toward revitalizing the downtown, planning and redeveloping the waterfront, and engaging Hastings' talented citizenry to be better environmental stewards and to enhance the Village's quality of life.

Create a Vibrant and Prosperous Downtown

Our Village government can work with the Chamber of Commerce to make our downtown into a great destination for residents and visitors alike. We can:

• Be pro-active in achieving the downtown we want through design guidelines and vigorous management.
• Keep the Farmers Market where it is and strive to expand on its success in the downtown.
• Provide new businesses with a "Welcome to Hastings" handbook that will describe our local regulations and provide helpful tips about operating in our community.
• Streamline the approvals process for small business owners who want to move into our downtown.

I have worked for a decade to put Hastings really and truly on the Hudson River. Waterfront redevelopment is a major opportunity that can happen in our lifetimes. While striving to make the clean-up process proceed more quickly, we should use our comprehensive planning process to continue to actively plan the waterfront. Here is what we can do:

• Continue to engage the community in refining and implementing the completed waterfront plan (LWRP) by developing new zoning and design guidelines.
• Create a park and infrastructure plan that ARCO can build so that when the clean-up is complete, we will have infrastructure in the ground and a new waterfront park that we can all enjoy.

I have dedicated my planning career to helping communities create great places. As Trustee, I will work to encourage more active citizen participation in all aspects of Village government and help to keep everyone well informed about the key issues the Village is confronting. Communities like ours depend on volunteerism and grass roots efforts, especially in tough economic times. With your help, we can address such issues as:

• Environmental stewardship and energy conservation.
• Creating a more walkable community and safe routes to school.
• Employment opportunities and activities for youth.
• More opportunities for our artists and performers to engage with the community.