Wednesday night members of the Downtown Revitalization Committee welcomed newest member, George Schricker. Schricker was selected to replace Brent Martin who resigned at his last meeting as the PIDCO representative. Other members include Mark Gidley from the PIDCO board, Bob Beiter and Dave Morrow representatives of the Plymouth Park Board, Dan Tyree and Tom Pedavoli from the Redevelopment Commission and Mayor Mark Senter.
Schricker was eager to share his thoughts on new projects when Mayor Mark asked about new downtown ideas. He suggested having a biking assessment of the ways to travel into the downtown area. He talked about the dangers of riding a bike and the dangerous crossings. Schricker also suggested adding bike racks downtown. He also noted that there are racks in River Park Square and at the library.
Another issue Schricker brought up during the Revitalization meeting was the trees on the South Gateway. He felt they looked “awful” for this Blueberry Festival.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi updated members on last month’s Urban Forestry and Flower committee meeting. A discussion was held on the trees Schricker was questioning and it was determined that they should be pruned. Since the project was federally funded, that slowed the process and the city did inform the contractor that the trees were struggling prior to the termination of the warranty. At this point it’s not clear if the trees are the issue or if their planters are the problem.
Schricker also told members about his new project, Wild Rose Moon. The store front was formerly The Vine and Schricker is working with Marcia Hershberger to create a community space that would be available for rent for workshops, symposiums, business meetings and even small performances. Schricker even discussed an after school drama workshop idea. The new event space would not serve food or alcohol but would allow for events to be catered or even carried in.
