Volunteer Robin Andrews was appointed by Mayor Brian Johnson in 2022 to chair the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee.
In 2022, on behalf of the village board, Robin applied for two grants: a Smart Growth Community Planning and Zoning Grant for $43,490 and a Hudson River Valley Greenway Grant for $10,000. Trustee Jason Detzel generously volunteered to assist Robin with writing the Smart Growth grant and their hard work paid off. Both grants were awarded!
The $53,490 award will fund the updating of Philmont 20-year-old comprehensive plan. The cash match by the village, amounting to approximately $6,610.00, will be spread out over two fiscal years.
The comprehensive plan is the culmination of a planning process that establishes the official land-use policy of a community and presents goals and a vision for the future that guides official decision-making. Philmont’s current comprehensive plan.
Chair Robin Andrews, who played a part in the last comprehensive plan and is familiar with the process, has assembled a strong committee, which, in addition to herself and village liaison Trustee Debra Gitterman, includes residents Nancy Meyers, Jeffrey French, Alison Hoppe, Bob Macfarlane, Nabal Camacho, and Volunteer High School Students Savina Marin and Owen Perry. The matching portions of the grants for which Philmont is responsible will be made up in volunteer hours of the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee. The village is grateful to the committee members for their generous service.
The village has contracted with Laberge Group, an engineering, architecture, planning and surveying firm located in Albany, New York, to help with the process. Laberge Group was selected based on research done by Robin Andrews and work the village has done with the engineering firm in the past. The committee will be working with Nicole Allen, a Laberge Director of Planning & Community Development, on Phase 1. Nicole Allen has already helped with identification of fundraising sources and conceptualizing the makeup of the committee. Going forward Ms. Allen will help with all aspects of the process, including strategy, community participation, and drafting of the final plan. Laberge Group is working with the village on the Philmont Library projects as well.
In the coming months the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee will be reaching out to residents through polls, forums, mailings and more to collect input from residents. Philmont welcomes and values all thoughts and opinions.