Dublin revitalization plan moves forward

21st Century Media News Service

Dublin Borough is one step closer to making its Revitalization and Vision Plan a reality.

Council members voted 5-0 to begin the process of making the plan an addendum to the borough’s comprehensive plan at the July 15 meeting.

The Revitalization and Visioning Plan includes wider sidewalks, treelined streets and on-street parking.

The plan, prepared by Carter van Dyke Associates, addresses con- cerns and goals of residents and business owners in Dublin and the surrounding communities.

“A lot of hard work went into this,” said Dublin Borough Council President Nick Roscia. “It’s a living breathing document. It’s not like we just cut and pasted the plan from another town.”

Some community members were unsure of the plan. Dan Rymdeika, whose family owns Grates and Grills, said that the proposed plan includes many elements that would impact his business. One of his concerns was the issue of possibly building a road behind the store and eliminating the front parking lot.

“We have a business to run, and to eliminate parking in front is a big concern,” Rymdeika said.

Dublin Mayor Chris Hayes tried to address some of the issues.

“People actually walked the town,” Hayes said of the study. “This is just a plan and we want to hear your feedback and we want to create a win-win to take the town to the next level.”

Council member Brent Smith thought the plan was good.

“It was built to give you the wow factor and a visual, but you need to apply it,” he said. “It will change the community without really changing the community. It addresses things without changing things.”

According to Hayes, the plan will be presented to business owners in October, and hopefully, the addenGuP wLOO EH DGRSWHG WKH fiUVW PHHWing in November.

In other business, council members voted 4-1 to apply for a Department of Conservation and Natural

Resources grant for Phase II of Supplee Park.

If selected, the grant would provide Dublin an 80/20 match for Phase II, which includes installing playground equipment, planting trees and baseball fiHOGV.

According to Borough Manager William Wert, Phase II is projected to cost $329,220.

According to Wert, the entire project was originally budgeted for about $700,000, and currently, the borough will end up paying about $200,000.

Smith said, “We’re executing our plan and at a lower budget than we originally anticipated.”

The next council meeting will be Aug. 12.

For more information about Dublin’s Revitalization and Visioning Plan, visit www.dublinborough.org.