By Andrew S.
A ragtime piano tune was playing while photos depicting Hancock over the past hundred years were projected onto a screen.
This was the scene preceding Alan Sorenson’s presentation of the Hancock Economic and Community Development Plan on December 9.
Sorenson, President of Planit Main Street Inc., presented his plan at a special meeting of the Hancock Village Board of Trustees on December 15. The Board agreed to “accept the plan as a guideline for planning.”
“This plan is for the entire Hancock area, not just the village,” said Sorenson. “You have a beautiful area and a lot to build from.”
Sorenson, Assistant Commissioner for the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal and Commissioner of Planning and Community Development for Sullivan County, N.Y., has more than twenty years of professional planning experience and has received statewide and national recognition for his planning work.
He has prepared several plans of this magnitude, including one in 2005 for the Village of Walden, N.Y. Thanks to the plan, Walden received a Rails to Trails grant.
Sorenson became aware of the Hancock area after the Hancock Partners approached him to create a comprehensive plan for the village.
The Partners had already received a $200,000 dollar Main Street Grant and they knew that with a formal plan it would be much easier to get more grants.
Hancock has lost two of its major employers, Becton-Dickinson and Mallery Lumber, during the last ten years and has an urgent need for revitalization.
Sorenson’s plan for Hancock tackles the problems of gateway entrances and corridor complications, housing and neighborhood concerns, parks and recreation needs, as well as problems with community facilities and infrastructure, economic development, and downtown revitalization.
In an interview on January 16, Gerald DaBrescia, president of Hancock Partners Inc., said, “There has to be a reason for someone to come to Hancock… Every downtown has to come up with something to attract people… this plan perpetuates the style and notion of an old downtown. The Partners need to set priorities,” said DaBrescia.
The Partners have already submitted a number of grants the plan proposed. The Transportation Enhancement Grant for the Hancock Fitness Trail and a second N.Y. State Main Street grant are both pending.
A grant to develop a welcoming center through the Upper Delaware Council has been awarded.
DaBrescia said, “We are trying to get acreage moved to Hancock so that building is cheaper.” By this he means he wants to reassign the borders of Hancock so that there is more land to build on.
DaBrescia also said the plan for the Hancock Community Health Care Center (Lourdes Clinic) has been adopted and is supported by the village. Lourdes Hospital has agreed to keep to the two-story regulation that Sorenson’s plan suggested in order to keep the buildings looking uniform and attractive to downtown dwellers and passersby.
DaBrescia stressed that this is a very early stage of the plan, saying, “We’re at pre-stage one… part of the problem is funding… grant money does not maintain the projects after they are completed.” He is hoping that those who want Hancock to do well will get behind the plan because in the end the Partners can only make as many improvements as the citizens want.
In a recent phone interview Sorenson said, “The plan addresses not only the year round residents but also the seasonal residents. Both groups could make Hancock a better place to live.”
He said that the plan is just the first step and it typically takes a few years to get a plan under way, though he is sure that Hancock will start to see the physical effects of the plan within the next six to nine months. In addition, if the grant is awarded for the Hancock Fitness Trail, construction should be completed within the next year.
“We should start to see the renovation to the building facades soon,” said Sorenson. With the economy the way it is, he says, “There are dollars in the federal stimulus package that may be available.” Sorenson has confidence in his plan and in the community and said, “Hancock has a unique sense of place that is very appealing.”
