Citizens and government representatives again filled the Curwensville Borough Building. One of the bigger goals of the committee is to take public input and comments, and package it in a unified package to pass along to the boro council. This second meeting looked to refine the collective input from the last meeting to flesh out a few ideas further.
Downtown Curwensville was the umbrella the discussion was aimed to primarily fall under. Discussion touched upon what kind of businesses the borough needed; where to get more space in the borough for development; on needed services and aesthetics for the town; recreation and tourism opportunities for Curwensville; how to get the youth more involved; the possibility of a community media cooperative; the need for government and community support and how to best handle security and safety in the borough.
Recreational events/places such as the Upper West Branch Triathlon, Rails to Trails and Curwensville Lake were spoken of in a similar vein as tourism. Families, individuals, groups are coming to and near Curwensville for these activities. The question is on how to keep these tourists and recreationists in Curwensville or to come visit the town.
For events, it was proposed to have a related event occur downtown at the same time. For the triathlon, for example, Curwensville could throw an after-race block party for the racers and those who came to the area with them.
More restaurants and/or places to stay in town could help bring in more money from tourists who might be visiting the winery. A variety of restaurants could serve visitors who prefer bars to those who prefer fine dining. One person tossed out the idea of a pizza festival to have local pizzerias compete to see who had the best pies.
With the borough’s diminished police capabilities, the topic of security was brought up a few times. One idea that was pitched was a neighborhood watch. A group of citizens gathering with an advertised objective of watching for crimes and reporting what they see to law enforcement. The idea being there should be less crime if everyone knew fellow citizens were watching. Other concerns were youth wandering the night streets with nothing to do in town.
There were five members of a local scouting troop present for the meeting. They provided some input of what they would like to see in Curwensville. A roller-skating rink was specifically said. The concept of a youth driven arm of the borough council was thrown on the table. This youth commission would be tasked with providing the area’s youth’s needs, desires, and views on the borough’s direction.
The media cooperative would be a center to bring the community together to educate the youth in modern technologies. It would also have potential for being an asset in marketing the town and fueling artistic involvement.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 28
