Europa McGovern, the City of Poughkeepsie’s commissioner of development, updated the Waterfront Advisory Committee on a range of waterfront projects, timelines and upcoming public outreach. The committee accepted the meeting minutes from Feb. 5, 2025, and then heard McGovern’s report.

McGovern said the city is engaged in a number of parallel efforts to activate and improve waterfront resources, from vendor selection for a concession site to state-funded planning and design work. “Of the $10,000,000, $9,700,000 is awarded to local projects within the delineated boundary,” McGovern said of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, describing how the local planning committee will screen applications before the state makes final awards.

The Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). McGovern said the state-awarded DRI will prioritize projects inside a boundary that overlaps parts of downtown and areas just east of Warriors Park. The city expects an open call for projects to begin June 9 and close July 21; McGovern said two identical public workshops are planned the Monday before the call (afternoon and evening sessions) and a public survey and other stakeholder outreach will follow. The DRI process uses a local planning committee (LPC) to score and advance candidate projects to the state, which makes the final funding decisions. McGovern described the DRI as a potential catalyst for additional grant opportunities if the city demonstrates successful project delivery.

Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan (LWRP). McGovern said the city locally adopted an updated LWRP in November 2022 that expanded the waterfront revitalization area east to Route 9 and to the Fallkill 100-year floodplain. She said the plan remains in the state Department of State review process and that, pending formal state adoption, the city is still able to pursue several DOS and related grant programs.

Project-specific work and procurement. McGovern reported several procurement steps: an active request-for-proposals (RFP) process for a concession operator at Stitsel Field (the former Benny’s/Tenth Inning site), an imminent RFP to retain a consultant for Fallkill design guidelines and stabilization (a 15-month planning and design phase once contracted), and an RFP to perform a structural assessment of the deepwater dock at the south side of Warriors Park. The structural assessment would include underwater inspection and produce cost estimates to inform capital budgeting or grant applications.

Code enforcement and activation. McGovern said the development department, now including the building division, is coordinating “universal code enforcement sweeps,” beginning on Main Street and expanding citywide to address sign permits, illegal uses, sanitation, overgrown lots and other quality-of-life concerns tied to newly adopted zoning provisions.

Public events and outreach. McGovern outlined near-term public events tied to outreach and activation: tabling at Juneteenth events, a June 18 “Middle Main” activation (noon–4 p.m.) in the 470 block of Middle/Main Street, Juneteenth opening events the weekend of June 14 and a parade and vendors on June 21. She also mentioned a small stakeholder meeting at the Chamber of Commerce (not yet posted) and other community engagement opportunities tied to the DRI process.

Fishing and CSO signage. Committee members raised the availability of free New York State fishing and combined-sewer-overflow (CSO) signage. McGovern said the city will review supplied materials and that DEC-permitted outfall signage already exists at some locations; she invited the committee to re-send the sample materials for staff consideration.

Committee vacancies and volunteer opportunities. Chair Mike Young noted that Europa McGovern’s move to city staff created vacancies on the Waterfront Advisory Committee. McGovern confirmed there are two openings (one council appointee and one mayoral appointee pending confirmation) and encouraged interested residents to submit applications when the city issues a call for volunteers.

Decisions and directions. The meeting produced no new binding policy decisions. The committee asked staff to circulate DRI workshop links and to keep the WACC informed of procurement timelines and public meetings. McGovern and staff described upcoming RFPs and grant cycles as moving quickly and urged committee members to share information with neighborhood stakeholders and business owners.

Ending: The committee thanked McGovern for the update and adjourned after approving the minutes.