During a Hopkinton town-hall focused on economic development and smart growth, residents proposed several specific projects to support local services while also raising infrastructure constraints that could affect feasibility.

Controlled-environment agriculture: Joe Moreau and others raised the controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) greenhouse concept as a potential support for local farmers and year-round production. Moreau said the town should evaluate minimum land requirements for such projects and noted that Exeter had been stopped earlier for lack of proper ordinances. "Think of how that could help the town and the taxes and the farmers," he said, recommending a minimum parcel size such as five or 10 acres as a possible starting point.

Partnerships with the University of Rhode Island were suggested repeatedly as a way to provide technical expertise and student internships, and residents urged the town to pursue such partnerships as part of business recruitment and facility reuse conversations.

Grocery store and gas station requests: Multiple residents said Hope Valley lacks basic retail services and suggested short-listing available buildings and marketing them to potential operators. Kathy Walker and others identified several Main Street properties and specific square-foot figures for existing spaces as places that might house a small-market operator similar to Charlestown Mini Super. Some attendees also asked the town to consider neighborhood gas stations in Hope Valley to reduce travel to Richmond for fuel; Sam Wilcox expressed reservations about adding a gas station and suggested such ideas can be "a touchy subject."

Veterans clinic and building reuse: Residents asked whether Hope Valley Elementary School could host a veterans clinic or other community services. One attendee proposed contacting the VA about using the school as a CBOC-style clinic for the southern part of the state. The suggestion was framed as leveraging empty municipal buildings for health or social services.

Lindbergh Green water system and golf-course land: Several speakers described an ongoing water crisis affecting Lindbergh Green condominiums and nearby developments. A condo-owner representative said a 39-acre parcel that formerly included a golf course is privately owned and that the condominium developments lack sufficient land to develop their own wells. She said the privately owned water company has not been responsive and that EPA violations exist; she described efforts to form a nonprofit to acquire land and seek grant funding to address water and site reuse.

Historic-building and Main Street constraints: Sherry Desjardins, the town's zoning officer, reminded residents that building reuse is constrained by site-level feasibility such as parking, septic and sidewalk width. Using a downtown example she said, "There's only 8 parking spots. We can't make any more parking spots there," and noted that some uses (for example, a larger cafe) are not feasible without infrastructure changes. Residents suggested targeted façade improvements, partnerships with vocational programs for rehab work, and grant-seeking (including private foundations) to make smaller, visible improvements that could catalyze broader Main Street revitalization.

Next steps at the meeting included cataloguing vacant properties and continuing community outreach; the commission and attendees said they would pursue grant and foundation opportunities and seek to partner with regional organizations and universities.