A community development plan for Herkimer County.

Learn more about the who, what, and why of It’s Happening in Herkimer County.

Opportunity.
Community.
Economy.
Creativity.
Livability.
Prosperity.

It’s Happening in Herkimer County is a planning process that created Herkimer County’s first countywide community development plan in 2022.

Now we’re moving forward. Learn more about the project, our team, and Herkimer County’s new Community Development Director, Deborah Kessler.

  • What & Why

    Learn more about what’s happening, when, and how it can help Herkimer County

    Explore

  • Who

    Meet the team: partners, funders, Steering Committee, and consultants

    Meet

  • FAQ

    Explore Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the project and outcomes

    Read

What & Why

 

Community Development Goals

Build county-wide collaboration in partnership with all levels of government, stakeholders and nonprofits; seek innovative public-private solutions to long-standing challenges

Bridge gaps between municipal boundaries, recognizing and building on the county’s strengths as a livable, workable, commutable region

Create an ecosystem that develops the county’s canal corridor and north/south strengths, leveraging opportunities for growth, focused on the promotion of agribusiness and innovative regional working solutions

Capitalize on historical and natural tourism assets to attract greater numbers of first-time and return visitors; identify, develop and promote logical linkages between and among tourist destinations

Timeline

2020 RESEARCH & MAPPING

Past plan review, data collection, and mapping; key stakeholder interviews

2019 LAUNCH

Project launched; steering committee formed

2021 ENGAGEMENT & PLANNING

Community outreach, interviews, events and story gathering; vision and project idea development

2022 ACTION LAUNCH

Plan release; pilot project development; hiring of Community Development Director

Meet the Team

 

Deborah Kessler

Herkimer County Community Development Director

Herkimer County

109 Mary Street, Suite 1318, Herkimer, NY 13350

dkessler@herkimercounty.org | 315.867.1379

 

Partners & Funders

Herkimer County government

The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties

Local municipalities

Steering Committee

Mark Blask (Chair)
Glenn Asnoe
David Berkstresser
Jim Bono
Tim Daly
Dominic Frank
Harrison Hummel
Cathleen McColgin
Peter Rovazzi

Consultants

Lead: Fairweather Consulting

Community engagement:
Community Workshop

Mapping and data analysis: Environmental Design & Research (EDR)

FAQ

Read through the Frequently Asked Questions below. Don’t see your question answered? Get in touch, or check back soon for more info.

 

What’s a community development plan?

Community development is all about creating opportunity — making Herkimer County a better place for all who live, work, play, learn, and visit here. Some plans look just at economic development or jobs, housing or land use. Community development is about empowering people to create a vision for their communities, and developing solutions to whatever stands in the way.

Haven’t we done enough planning?

Herkimer County has never completed a community development plan, and never broadly reached out to ask people about a vision for the county. This is also the first countywide plan after COVID-19, and it gives us a chance to find out what priorities matter most to people today. We do have other countywide plans, and we are building off those results.

How will we agree on a vision for Herkimer County?

A vision is a picture of what we want the future to be. Everyone’s vision for the county different, and different parts of the county will vary. But there is almost always some common ground — a sense of what’s special and unique about our place, and worth protecting. This process is about hearing and sharing people’s many different visions for Herkimer County and then finding common ground within them.

Will anything actually happen as a results of this plan?

In part, that’s up to you. This project has identified many ideas for improving the county overall, villages and towns, even neighborhoods. We aim to share those ideas and help people start taking action. But progress happens faster when we work together. That’s why Herkimer County has hired Deborah Kessler as the new Community Development Director. Deborah will focus on bringing people together and helping people make progress.

Not much seems to happen in Herkimer County. Why is this different?

Actually, tons of great things are happening in Herkimer County already. And many people, organizations and businesses do work together. The first step is to see and celebrate what’s already here and share examples. We need your help to do that. Take a look around, think about who’s doing great work or innovative projects, and tell us about them.

Ok, I’m interested. How can I get involved?

  • Watch this site for updates and events and sign up for news

  • Tell us about great things already happening in Herkimer County so we can share their stories

  • Explore the ideas that others are sharing, and pick something to try in your community