Residents get chance to plan redevelopment

Posted: November 27, Timesleader.com
Residents get chance to plan redevelopment
SHICKSHINNY – Borough residents might be wondering just who those people in polo shirts wandering through their community are and why they’re passing out fliers.

     They are the members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Long Term Community Recovery Team, and they’re here to help the town make a comeback, said team leader Shea Christilaw.

     The LTCR team, comprised of municipal planners, is spending the next three months in the borough to help the community shape a new direction as residents and businesses work to recover from Sept. 9 flooding that ravaged nearly all of the town’s homes and all but one of its 28 businesses.

     Shickshinny and Athens, Bradford County, are the only two Pennsylvania communities marked by FEMA to receive long-term recovery assistance following a five-point plan called Heart-and-Soul Community Planning.

“It’s finding out what makes Shickshinny special and using those things and places … to plan for the future,” Christilaw said.

     “We don’t want to lose what gives Shickshinny its character. We want to make sure those special places are preserved and those values are carried through even in the face of change, because things are going to change,” she explained at a recent “story circle” meeting at First United Methodist Church.

     Christilaw said the team will help create a long-term recovery plan.
Many voices

     The process should include everyone: council, business owners and residents. A committee of community members – residents, business owners, senior citizens, students – and a few Luzerne County representatives will help steer the process, she said.

     The Rev. Terry Hughes, pastor of First United Methodist and a steering committee member, said the process is an opportunity “to paint the picture of Shickshinny the way you envision it.”

     “One person says I think Shickshinny should look like this, another person says it should look like that. When you put all of them together, what are the things that are in common? These are the things that we need for Shickshinny for it to feel like home,” Hughes said.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/Residents_get_chance_to_plan_redevelopment_11-27-2011.html#ixzz1exBqTvHk

Caption: Shickshinny Mayor Beverly Moore addresses the town’s Long Term Community Recovery Steering Committee in the basement of First United Methodist Church during its first meeting.