FALLS VILLAGE — Groups of community leaders met twice last week in focus groups to discuss ways of revitalizing the business districts of the towns participating in the Northwestern Connecticut Regional Planning Collaborative’s Village Center Vitality Initiative.
The focus groups were run by consultant group AKRF. Ruth Skovron, a member of the Falls Village Planning and Zoning Commission who has been active with the collaborative, said on the first night town officials, bankers and real estate brokers attended, plus a group of “model shoppers†made up of full- and part-time residents.
The second evening was attended by business people, including Bob LaBonne of LaBonne’s in Salisbury, Dan Hincks of Infinity Hall (Norfolk), K.C. Baird of Baird’s General Store in Cornwall, Gary Davis of the Davis IGA supermarket in Kent, Missy Ohler (Colonial Theatre, North Canaan), Alice Bemand of Tri-Arts Playhouse (Sharon) and Greg Bidou of the Toymaker’s Cafe in Falls Village.
The responses from the focus groups will be compiled by AKRF; the results will be ready in several months.
In the meantime, Skovron urged area residents to complete an online survey at the collaborative’s Web site (nwctplanning.org).
“We want to get more input from local residents and tourists,†she said. The online survey has three versions: full-time resident, part-time resident and tourist, and takes takes about five minutes to complete.
