Sixteen people have been chosen by Mayor Michael Villa to serve on a local planning committee which will work with New York State planners and consultants to come up with a strategic investment plan to utilize the $10 Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant recently awarded to the city.
Individuals named to the committee:
- Chad Majewski, national brand manager of Sticker Mule*
- John Duchessi, AIDA director, Montgomery County Legislator, former mayor
- Gina DaBiere-Gibbs, director of tourism at Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce
- Joseph Emanuele, AIDA board member, former mayor
- Dan Weaver, owner of The Book Hound, columnist for the Amsterdam Recorder
- Michael Whitty, chief at Amsterdam Fire Department
- Ladon Alomar, director at Centro Civico
- Nicole Hemsley, director at the Amsterdam Free Library
- Paul Gavry, chairman of the Amsterdam Waterfront Foundation, Amsterdam Planning Board
- Andy Heck, president, general manager at Alpin Haus
- Jennifer Saunders, CEO at Liberty Enterprises ARC
- Damaris Carbone, director at Amsterdam Housing Authority
- Dominic Wade, business owner and entrepreneur
- Gina DeRossi, AIDA and zoning board member, former alderwoman
- William Baaki, attorney, interim alderman
- Kelly Quist-Demars, constituent representative for the office of Congressman Paul Tonko
Villa will co-chair the committee along with Fulton-Montgomery Community College President Dustin Swanger, who also serves as the co-chair of the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council.
Previously, Villa said that the target date to have the strategic investment plan completed is March 2019.
* A previous version of this article stated Majewski’s title as vice president of sales at both Noteworthy and Print Bear (stickermule.com). Per Majewski, his title has been updated to reflect his most current position.
