North Beach Ventnor business district.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The Board of Commissioners Thursday, Feb. 9 will hear a presentation summarizing suggestions made by residents and business owners about how to improve Ventnor’s five business districts.
Following a weeks-long collaboration using an online communication tool, Commissioner Tim Kriebel said he would summarize comments made on the forum to see if there is interest in moving forward with some of the suggestions.
“It will be a short PowerPoint presentation summarizing all the brainstorming that was done on Basecamp,” Kriebel said. “We can use this presentation as a way to vet projects to determine if the commission is interested in pursuing them over the next several years.”
Implementing suggestions made will depend on policy, funding and cooperation, he said.
“We can make some real improvements in our downtown areas as a way to make Ventnor a destination,” he said. “It’s time.”
Improvements cannot happen in a vacuum and Kriebel wants to see if the governing body, administration and the community will be supportive of the ideas presented and if they are doable.
“Business owners and homeowners have a real interest in seeing Ventnor improve,” he said.
Members of the city’s green team, the Ventnor Business Association and an architect were among those who collaborated online about what they believe can be done to improve the look of the downtown areas. The collaboration was limited to about a dozen participants who have the backgrounds and professional expertise, or could speak about improvements that were successful in other communities. The brainstorming session was conducted for about three weeks last September.
The exercise sought suggestions for five business communities – Wellington Avenue, Dorset Avenue, North Beach, South Beach and the Central Business District.
“It was difficult to get people to come to meetings, so we used Basecamp, which is a great way to work around their schedules,” Kriebel said.
Now, he wants to summarize their ideas and garner input to prioritize them.
The city has already begun to implement one idea – to reinforce the city’s property maintenance codes. The city has put out notifications on its website and Facebook pages reminding property owners of their responsibilities to maintain their storefronts and sidewalks.
The commissioners will review the summary before deciding to provide manpower, apply for grants or provide funding in its municipal budgets.
Kriebel said some of the ideas center around general housekeeping, signage, streetscapes, and little things, such as painting trim around storefront windows.
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