Just when you were getting sick of all this blog hoopla...

...the MSP and the Groundbreaking Committee are happy to introduce a sister blog dedicated exclusively to the Groundbreaking ceremony on July 8th.

Please Welcome TBurg Celebrates to the blog-verse and check it out at http://tburgcelebrates.blogspot.com

Hope to see you in both the blog-verse and on Main Street!

Groundbreaking Ceremony Details!

It seems like the MSP's Groundbreaking Ceremony scheduled for July 8th has some of the eager anticipation and waiting that so defined the overall MSP process. The project is now proud to offer all the final event details for the Trumansburg public.

While construction has already begun, the July 8th event will act as a powerful symbol of the huge community investment coming to Trumansburg this summer. While the digging we will do on July 8th will only be symbolic, it is quite a symbol!

The groundbreaking event will be an all day celebration. From 9am-5pm, interested people can sign up for the "Community Art Crawl" at the Village Office Porch. Registrants will receive sketch paper and drawing untensils courtesy of the MSP. After receiving their gear, registrants are encouraged to go out and draw pre-construction Main St. before Economy Paving really steps up and changes the look of Main St. "Art Crawlers" are encourages to go up and down Main St, checking out their favorite spots one last time and dreaming up how the new Main St. will look. The Chamber of Commerce has encouraged local businesses to offer special sales and mini-events that day as a way to show support. When done with their sketches, registrants must give back the sketches to the MSP as part of the event record. If the artists wish so, they can stipulate for their work to be put out on display later that day or to not have it displayed. It is up to them.

At 3:00pm, the formal groundbreaking ceremony will begin in front of the Tompkins Trust Comapny bank office downtown. The Village DPW will place pylons and barricades along the front of the bank to mimic the newly narrowed Main St. and the soon-to-be-built civic space. From 3:00pm to 4:00pm there will be live music (musicians still TBA). At 4:00pm, MSP volunteers along with representatives from Cayuga Creamery will hand out free ice cream! While the audience enjoys its ice cream, a brief speakers series will begin. The speakers scheduled to appear are:

Marty Luster (Former county-level representative for Trumansburg and a major financial supporter of the MSP during its early years)

Tracy Vanderzee (Representative of the Tompkins Trust Company Bank and the Trumansburg area Chamber of Commerce).

Greg Fehrman (Representative of C&S Engineers, the project's engineering firm/consultants)

Paula Horrigan (Community member and part of the MSP advisory committee).

After the speakers are done, the backhoe will start up and take the first ceremonial scoop out of the ground. Audience members can then join in so remember to bring a shovel or spade! Live music will continue until 5pm and the event close.

Hope to see lots of folks there for free ice cream, music, art, and success!

Informational Meeting

While it appears that the rain delayed the expected June 26th mobilization, it is not stopping the MSP! Economy Paving is still preparing to mobilize and begin construction as soon as possible. However, the decision of when to mobilize remains theirs and as of today we have not heard a new expected date.
If you have any other questions for Economy Paving and/or the rest of the construction parties (MSP, Village government, C & S Engineers, and NYSEG) then why not them in person?! This Thrusday (June 29th, 2006) at 7:30pm in the Village Office meeting hall representatives of all the aforementioned will be available to answer your questions about construction along Main St. If you have any questions/concerns about traffic delays, pedestrian accessibility, schedules, noise, etc., then please come! Everyone is welcome to come and get a discussion going before construction begins. Hope to see lots of people there!

Mobilization Date Confirmed!

On June 13, 2006 Village Office staff contacted Economy Paving to tell them of the village's final decision to award them the money. Economy Paving was also able to tell the Village Office and MSP of their expected mobilization date. Economy Paving plans to mobilize on Monday June 26th, 2006. Mark that date!
Mobilization means that Economy will begin to bring in their construction equipment and setup their infrastructure. Mobilization does not entail groundbreaking and that will still be up to Economy's discretion. However, considering Economy's aggressive schedule then it looks like there will be construction happening by the July 8th groundbreaking ceremony. While the MSP regrets that the actual first dig can't be made at the groundbreaking ceremony, they realize the need to begin construction while the weather is good. The July 8th groundbreaking will still remain a fun event to help celebrate 15+ years of civic involvement and Main Street's new look.

-Andres

Hiatus and New E-Mail

As construction gets closer and closer, the MSP imagines that the need for accurate information will be critical. My role as Community Development Coordinator is just that and this blog is just one of the platforms that lets you get informed and/or contact me. While I will be in the office all summer long, I will be out of town from June 18th to June 25th. I am still reachable through my new e-mail address (tburgmainst@fltg.net) and will be checking my e-mail regularly while away. You can also contact the MSP by calling the Village Office (387-6501). There either the Village Clerk, Tammy Morse, or Village Treasurer, Tammy McMillen can refer you to the proper MSP volunteer/contact. Thanks!

Money Awarded!

On June 12th, 2006 the Trumansburg Village Board decided to award the base bid amount for the Main Street reconstruction to Economy Paving. This means that construction WILL happen on Main St. this summer and allows Economy to mobilize their equipment as soon as they wish! The award did not include add alternate 1 (which includes the street lights) because the money for that part of the project is still subject to the permissive referendum brought on by the recent bond resolution. The Village Office staff is now contacting Economy to get thier schedule and see when they plan to start. The July 8th groundbreaking ceremony remains as scheduled.

Last Chance for Bricks

For those familiar with the MSP's history, the commemorative bricks should ring familiar. The brick campaign started in 2002 as a way to meet the fundraising goals required to win full TEA-21 grant amounts. Brick buyers were allowed to write their own engraving and choose from 3 logos for their bricks. Once completed the bricks would go on Main Street and remain their as symbols of community pride. Due to the unexpected delays met by the MSP from 2003 to spring 2006, the brick orders remained archived and waiting for the eventual construction date. As we prepare to start building on Main Street, the MSP bricks have come back to the new energy and demmand! There is still time to order your own brick if you did not back during the initial brick buying period. Bricks are $35 each or $100 for a set of 3 (you save $5 that way) and come with several engraving options. You can choose one of our three logos or submit your own! You can make maximum use of the 3 lines of 20 characters each or impress everyone with a minimalist blank brick! The brick is your way to literally leave your mark in the village.
You can come by the MSP office and see some of the sample bricks we have on display. Brick order forms are available online at: http://mainstreet.trumansburg.ny.us/bricks.html. Just print off the form and bring it to the Village Office with your payment. However, please note that brick orders must be in by 4pm on June 23rd! All orders must be in by that time to guarantee delivery date for construction. Feel free to contact the MSP with any questions.

Groundbreaking Meeting

Wanted to post a quick item to the blog. Tentative dates for construction are out and explained in greater detail in the latest Main Street Column in the Trumansburg Free Press or on our project website. Quickly, though, we hope to see construction mobilization by June 21st and actual construction statr by July 10th. When noting these dates, please remember that they are tentative.

Using those dates as guideposts, the MSP has a subcommittee dedicated to planning a groundbreaking ceremony on July 8th. The sub-committee hopes to have an ice cream social, art exhibits, and a speaker's series for the ceremony. This event marks another opportunity to become incvolved in the MSP and continue the vounteering that carried the project to today. If interested in helping out the groundbreaking sub-committee or the MSP in general please e-mail me at garikapc@gmail.com. You can also join the groundbreaking committee for a breakfast meeting tomorrow (June 3rd 2006) at 8am at Ellie's Restaurant.

-Andres