North Beach Ventnor business district.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – Commissioner Tim Kriebel is seeking public support for a planning project that could result in improvements to the city’s business districts.
In a cryptic announcement on the city’s website, Kriebel asked people to send him their resumes to become involved in an online forum where they can make suggestions about things the community and city can do to improve the look and feel of the business districts.
“Everybody loves Ventnor,” Kriebel said. “We’re looking for suggestions that will improve the look of our downtown areas.”
The project is limited to the business districts. Ten people, including representation from the Ventnor Business Association and the municipality, have been screened and given access to the communication forum known as Basecamp. Only 10 more spots are available.
“People can go to Basecamp at their convenience and put in their ideas,” Kreibel said. “They can say what they like and don’t like, add supporting documents, and information about things that were successful in other towns.”
Kriebel said Ventnor enjoys a broad spectrum of residents with professional backgrounds that can provide information and suggestions to support community improvements.
“We want a well rounded group that can bring different skill sets to the table and we know many people have an interest in seeing our downtown areas improve,” he said.
Knowing what the people want will help the city in its budgeting and planning, he said.
“We want to see where we can go and how the city can support it,” he said. “Once we see what the group comes up with, we will hold an online brainstorming session to edit down the list and prioritize.”
The website will be active for about three weeks before the brainstorming session is held.
The information gleaned from the group will help the commissioners decide if there is any legislation needed to ensure projects are seen through to completion, if projects should be a part of the city’s budget, or if there are grants available to help fund projects.
“It will also help us educate people and show them what our limitations are,” he said. “Some of the things we can look at are signage, streetscapes, general housekeeping, but we want people to offer their suggestions. No idea is bad, but some may not be doable.”
Some of the suggestions so far include coming up with a tree planting program and general cleaning, removing overgrown weeds and cleaning storm drains in commercial areas.
One contributor posted that landlords and business owners need to take more responsibility for their properties, tending to the little things, like paint and window treatments.
“It’s all about curb appeal,” he said. “This will help everyone get in step and allow us to communicate better.”
Anyone interested in contributing to the online forum should send their resume, bio or a notice of interest to tkriebel@ventnorcity.org.
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