Middleton, WI vs. Sleepy Hollow, NY
Welcome to this first round match-up in the sixth annual Strongest Town Contest! In this round, 16 towns are facing off, and eight will advance to the next segment of the contest based on your votes. We invite you to read answers representatives from these two cities provided to our questions about economic resilience, citizen involvement, community response to the pandemic, and more. Then vote for the strongest at the bottom of this page.
Can’t decide? If you’re looking for inspiration, check out how we describe the Strong Towns approach, or take a look at our free ebook, The Local Leader’s Toolkit: A Strong Towns Response to the Pandemic.
You may vote once per match-up.
Round 1 voting closes at 12pm CDT on Thursday, March 18th.
For rules, and to follow along with the contest, visit the Strongest Town Contest page.
Note: All entries are lightly edited for clarity and readability.
MIDDLETON, WI
Entry submitted: Abby Attoun, Jocelyne Sansing, Tammy Derrickson, Julie Peterman, Daphne Xu, Rebecca Price, Gabrielle Hinahara, Mike Davis
What is your favorite thing about your town?
A wonderful sustainable balance between economic development and environmental stewardship.
How easy is it to live in your town without regular access to a car? What are some steps your town has taken—or is in the process of taking—to make it safer and easier to walk, bike, or use a wheelchair?
We've made it very easy to walk or bike in Middleton over the past 20 years. The City has planned and executed development of a 22-mile (soon to be over 25-mile) trail network for a City of just over 21,000 population and nine square miles in area. The trail network enables people who live and work in Middleton easily to commute via walking and biking to major job clusters. We've almost eliminated all trails that have street crossings by placing trails under highways and major thoroughfares. The North Mendota Trail, under construction now, will provide a critical link to the northeast side of the community which has been mostly accessible only by automobile.
The City's Public Lands department provides an electric wheelchair by appointment for disabled residents' access to the City's Pheasant Branch Conservancy loop trail of about 4-miles. The wheelchair is housed at the City's Orchid Heights Park for easy access.
The City has also planned and implemented more bike lanes on city streets in the past several years as we update streets through our capital budget. We've also added rapid flashing beacons at various crosswalks to calm traffic for pedestrians on major thoroughfares as well as for areas serving as crosswalks for children walking to and from school.
What are some steps your town has taken—or is in the process of taking—to increase housing options and affordability?
For the past 17 years, the City's Workforce Housing Committee has provided focus on providing housing affordable to people who live and work in Middleton. This is especially important in a community that has about 21,000 jobs (same as our population) and has a net export of jobs to surrounding communities of about 10,000. In 2015, the Common Council approved a Workforce Housing strategy with a goal of developing nearly 300 more affordable units over a five-year timeframe. We accomplished that goal, but then found the affordability gap had grown. We're now redoubling efforts to have not only more infill multi-family housing but also to have more affordable units at 60% of average median income. With recently completed projects and those under construction now, we've added about 100 such affordable units over past 3 years. Those units are integrated with market-rate units without distinction in housing style and type through use of developers using the low-income housing tax credit, coupled with City assistance of tax increment financing targeted to the affordable units as well. The City is just completing its comprehensive plan update, and we'll be implementing zoning code recommendations designed to reduce parking requirements for multi-family developments and to allow greater development of accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods. Infill development with affordable housing is essential to the City's sustainability plan as well as the workforce housing strategy.
At Strong Towns, we believe that financial solvency is a prerequisite for long-term prosperity. What steps has your community taken to ensure its financial security? How do local leaders adequately do the math on new investments proposed in your town to ensure that they’ll be able to afford them now and afford their maintenance in the future?
The City undertakes extensive financial planning, and we have won two consecutive awards from the Government Finance Officers Association's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for 2018 and 2019. The City's bond rating certified by Moody's is Aa1, the highest for cities of Middleton's size in the state of Wisconsin. The finance/administration team reviews the City's five-year operating and capital planning with the City's Finance Committee and Common Council each year. Smart use of tax increment financing (TIF) targets resources to incentivize development that fits the City's economic, housing, transportation, sustainability and other goals. The City's tax increment district #3 has been one of the most successful in the state's history, and its track record has improved economic development and sustainability/environmental stewardship in an organic and complementary manner.
At Strong Towns, we believe that local government is a platform for strong citizens to collaboratively build a prosperous place. How are residents in your town involved in shaping its future? How do residents’ experiences, struggles and concerns directly inform the projects undertaken by local government? Provide one or more examples.
1. Over the course of the past five-and-a-half years of the City's comprehensive planning process, we've undertaken 17 public input sessions, 28 Plan Commission work sessions, 22 volunteer committee reviews/feedback, three social media polls, one resident and one business survey, and two public hearings. By the time of the final public hearing, just a handful of residents had any further comments as the community had already provided such vast feedback and direction for the City's planning.
2. The City's committee structure involves about 150 residents, including high school students appointed to select committees, from a vast spectrum of the city. They work in tandem with elected officials and city staff to provide recommendations to the elected Common Council and Mayor. About 95% of the recommendations that make it from those volunteer committees are enacted into policy, ordinance or practice by the City. This strong de-centralized format works as well for the City's budget approval. It's a strong show of active and informed democracy .
How is your town proactively making it possible for more people to get outdoors safely during the pandemic?
The City's Community Development Authority, Downtown Middleton Business Association and Public Lands Department collaborated to make available a green space (planned to be Stone Horse Green: https://www.stonehorsegreen.org/) with picnic tables available for downtown restaurants and their patrons during the summer/fall of 2020. The "Pick Your Picnic" venture received marketing support from Middleton Tourism, and it was quite successful in helping restaurants survive a critical time of the year. The City also waived outdoor cafe permit fees and will do so again for the 2021 spring/summer/fall.
Also, the City's trails, parks and conservancy saw record numbers of outdoor activity in 2020 as so many other options weren't available. Middleton residents love all of their outdoor venues and activities. The recent community survey bears out that reality as well.
How is your town proactively helping local businesses and entrepreneurs during the pandemic? Describe how you are providing flexibility for small businesses and entrepreneurs to adapt and innovate.
In addition to waiving the outdoor cafe permit fees and "Pick Your Picnic" mentioned above, the City and Middleton Area Development Corporation (a private non-profit serving City businesses only) collaborated to provide a low-interest loan fund of $600,000 ($300,000 each) managed by MADC. About $500,000 in loans (serving about 20 local businesses) have been approved thus far at this critical time in between federal initiatives. Loans are 1% amortized over up to four years and designed and targeted to locally-owned and managed businesses. The collaboration is called the Middleton Economic Relief Loan (MERL) loan program.
How are you measuring success and progress during this pandemic? What metrics tell you that your community is thriving and what metrics have helped you see where people are struggling?
We are measuring success through the community's feedback in services conducted during the heart of the pandemic in October. Survey results (both resident and business) which were highly favorable can be found here: https://www.cityofmiddleton.us/356/Resident-Surveys. The surveys were conducted in a scientific random selection manner by Polco/NRC, the leading municipal survey body in the U.S. which also has a headquarter office in Middleton.
We also have measured success anecdotally by the few businesses and restaurants that have closed for good. We are dedicated as a community to pull together for the benefit of all.
SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY
Entry submitted by: Jared Rodriguez, Lynn Moffat, Kersten Harries
What is your favorite thing about your town?
Twenty-five miles north of New York City on the Hudson River’s eastern shore, is a space where Lenape tribes gathered and hunted, where a sizeable Dutch plantation milled grains to ship to markets along the Hudson, where lines in the Revolutionary War were drawn, where a famous American short story is set, where farm plots yielded neighborhoods incorporating as North Tarrytown in 1874, where industrialization began with brickyards and ended with an auto factory. By the early 20th century, the Village’s identity and finances were tied inextricably to General Motors. At times, GM represented 50% of Village tax revenues and employed 5,000 workers. Local businesses were built around the double shifts. In 1996, the factory closed. GM retained title to the 99-acre property. Contentious negotiations led to the Village gaining public river frontage and 28 acres east of Metro-North’s Hudson Line. GM received, and sold to developers, a permit to develop 1,177 housing units and 175,000 square feet of retail, hotel and commercial space across 68 acres. The Village embraced this change, strategically moving past its industrial identity. A referendum changed the name from North Tarrytown to its historical appellation, Sleepy Hollow. Our extraordinary natural, historic, and cultural assets came into focus. A new wave of people began to arrive from the city, including the creative class. That a small village stood up to GM brought civic pride. Local spirit strengthened, evidenced by a series of cultural festivals, art installations and community gardens (Halloween remains the top tourist draw.) The development of a Riverwalk and Common will provide public access to the Hudson and Pocantico Rivers and a large central public space open to all who wish to gather.
How easy is it to live in your town without regular access to a car? What are some steps your town has taken—or is in the process of taking—to make it safer and easier to walk, bike, or use a wheelchair?
The Village of Sleepy Hollow is lucky to retain its dense, walkable built environment. The historic Downtown is oriented to a passenger railroad network that provides access from two train stations to Yonkers and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan and Peekskill, Beacon and Poughkeepsie to the north among other major destinations. A former automotive factory town, the built environment consists of many mixed-use buildings on three primary corridors: Beekman Avenue, Cortlandt Street, and Valley Street, as well as along Broadway, otherwise known as New York State Route 9. The main street is Beekman Avenue connecting the civic center at Village Hall to the Hudson River waterfront. Side streets contain multifamily and single-family homes as well as small apartment buildings. Because of all this, the community is highly walkable and a car-free lifestyle is very much possible. Though this is not currently the norm, a car-free lifestyle can and will gain more traction in Sleepy Hollow as the community densifies and more amenities, workplaces and housing options become available in the vicinity of Downtown. There’s more work to do including bringing more fresh produce groceries and other staple shopping items to the urban core, which is pending. A local grocer plans to open a large supermarket in a new district emerging at the waterfront on land once occupied by the GM plant. A Downtown streetscape improvement plan is in the works to provide better accessibility to disabled residents and visitors. A resolution was recently passed to improve cycling safety and access between Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown and the Mario Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge pathway across the Hudson River. The Village is becoming more and more pedestrian-oriented as time passes; this is a stable trend.
What are some steps your town has taken—or is in the process of taking—to increase housing options and affordability?
Sleepy Hollow completed its Comprehensive Plan and is devising a new zoning code that accommodates the Plan’s goals. The Village approved dense development with a variety of housing options on the waterfront. With a Local Development Corporation, we are creating new recreation and community amenities, restoring the Pocantico River estuary and habitat, and focusing on the Beekman Avenue corridor to create positive change with new development there. Sleepy Hollow faces high housing demand and supply has not kept up, particularly for missing middle and affordable housing. Soon, discussions on our housing shortage will begin between NY State and Phelps Hospital, the largest local employer. A decade ago, we found our new identity. The Mayor broke with the assumption Halloween would be the primary catalyst for a “new Sleepy Hollow,” however. Creatives were moving up from the City buying homes from older villagers; the beauty of the Hudson River at the Tappan Zee would be accessible to the public; funding from new development provided a unique opportunity to “think big” without necessarily spoiling the diversity and fine-grained urbanism that defines us. The Mayor channeled efforts to cultural initiatives engaging experienced planners who embraced new ideas on public space and listened to community concerns ranging from the urban tree canopy to opportunities for artists. As for Halloween, the Village is working to make the holiday more than the Headless Horseman. It’s about the “Tale” in its totality; about Washington Irving as an author, ambassador, naturalist, and social commentator; about this unique place built on a foundation of immigration and deep history. The Village is determined that displacement will not become an economic development strategy.
At Strong Towns, we believe that financial solvency is a prerequisite for long-term prosperity. What steps has your community taken to ensure its financial security? How do local leaders adequately do the math on new investments proposed in your town to ensure that they’ll be able to afford them now and afford their maintenance in the future?
The current mayor Ken Wray, who has been in office for the past twelve years, has held annual homeowner property tax increases to less than a 2% average, without cutting services. The billion-dollar mixed-use development on 68 acres of the former GM site is providing significant income to the Village that will cover the essential services for new residents and commercial entities, as well as funding for the creation and maintenance of 50+ acres of new and reclaimed public space and parklands. Concurrently, efforts are underway to reconfigure the tax ratio as set by New York State, so that commercial properties, particularly legacy businesses on Beekman Avenue (the Village’s “Main Street”) will be less burdened by property taxes. The Village is looking at its portfolio of properties with the intent to upzone and consolidate, resulting in better land use practices and returning some desirable properties to Village property tax rolls. Since 2010, annual audits find the Village to be financially stable with a healthy fund balance. In 2018, Moody’s upgraded the Village bond rating to Aa3 from A1. Also in 2018, NYS Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Council recognized Sleepy Hollow “for taking bold steps to realize its potential” as a place of employment, a place to live, and a place for visitors. Naming Sleepy Hollow a “Priority Project” opened new funding streams from NYS for comprehensive economic development. The Village’s Local Development Corporation recently concluded negotiations for a $35 million loan with a highly favorable rate (3%) and payback options allowing the Village to move ahead with the design and development of public spaces and parklands.
At Strong Towns, we believe that local government is a platform for strong citizens to collaboratively build a prosperous place. How are residents in your town involved in shaping its future? How do residents’ experiences, struggles and concerns directly inform the projects undertaken by local government? Provide one or more examples.
We recently completed a two-year exhaustive public process through which we revised and updated our Comprehensive Plan. The Plan provides a roadmap for change and evolution in the Village’s physical character, economy, and regulatory landscape. Part of our Comprehensive planning process included workshops, neighborhood “meetings-in-a-box” hosted in residents’ homes, outreach at the farmer’s market, and surveys. Having completed the Plan, a committee was established to modify the zoning code to better reflect the urban nature and potential of the Village. Jared Rodriguez, our Strongest Town application lead serves on the zoning committee and is a strong advocate for Form Based Codes among other tools to provide more housing options, a virtuous cycle of investment, and economic stability to the community. Our government routinely recruits residents to serve on various volunteer boards and committees and remains supportive of ideas received directly from residents. By hiring a bilingual Community Liaison in 2018, over half the Village’s residents who are Spanish-speaking and who live mostly Downtown, have a direct voice in government. Our Police Reform Task Force is an ongoing process to solicit public feedback and implement positive change particularly regarding the relationship between our public safety infrastructure and our residents of color and immigrant communities. An artist collective recently completed the largest community-led public art project on the Hudson River and was honored for their work. Public engagement and initiative are part of the soul of Sleepy Hollow. We are proud of our work and we are more excited than ever to continue envisioning and implementing positive progress in our Village.
How is your town proactively making it possible for more people to get outdoors safely during the pandemic?
All Sleepy Hollow residents are always within a ten minute walk of miles of spectacular and historic promenades, trailways, parks, interpretive centers, farming and natural space. The Village promoted socially-distanced community engagement with a recently completed Wishing Wall mural, the largest of its kind in the Hudson Valley. It was difficult to not notice how many more residents took advantage of Sleepy Hollow’s many outdoor recreation opportunities during the pandemic. It’s important we continue to keep residents and visitors alike engaged with our incredible natural and infrastructure resources. Our goal is to implement new improvements to public space at the waterfront, in our central business district and in surrounding residential neighborhoods to maintain and improve access to the open air and stimulate engagement between neighbors. We are blessed with geography, natural and built environment assets, and storied institutions and local lore which undergird our community.
How is your town proactively helping local businesses and entrepreneurs during the pandemic? Describe how you are providing flexibility for small businesses and entrepreneurs to adapt and innovate.
Sleepy Hollow was highly accommodating to the needs of our local business as they retooled for outdoor dining and curbside pickup, among other shifts in business behavior because of the pandemic. Village government immediately responded to business requests to develop tented gathering spaces, cordoned sidewalk zones, among other creative solutions to providing necessary social distancing and safe areas for business exchange. One of our prized beer gardens and pubs did very well selling growlers of beer from a walk-up pickup zone. Our Farmers Market, shared with nearby Tarrytown, saw explosive growth and we decided to extend it into the winter months, bringing much needed revenue to farmers but also providing a safe shopping venue and opportunity for social interactions for our residents. Flexibility during the pandemic is an insight-fueling exercise in rethinking public space and being more open-minded to solutions to improve the business environment. We are excited to continue encouraging innovation in our business community, especially among our many Latino and Black entrepreneurs.
How are you measuring success and progress during this pandemic? What metrics tell you that your community is thriving and what metrics have helped you see where people are struggling?
Ten-fold growth in donations at the local food pantry indicates residents are deeply concerned about their neighbors in need. Artist and community activists envisioned, self-directed and produced the “Wishing Wall” mural project. The project safely engaged with hundreds of people throughout the Village and the surrounding villages over a period of four weeks. It remains a visible symbol of hope and resiliency. Over a dozen new pollinator gardens were established, all of which were community driven by a loose network of gardeners, garden clubs and the Rivertowns Pollinator Pathway project. A local beekeeper reported the annual volume of honey produced by his three hives doubled. This may seem small in the scheme of things, but it proves community-drive action creates real improvements to the environment. Construction continued through the pandemic on the Edge mixed-use development project. Dozens of brownstones were constructed, and hundreds of apartments are to open, including affordable units. The Village began design and construction on the Common, 28 acres on a former GM parking lot including public space and parkland, new trails and recreation facilities easily accessible to all villagers. The Village began reclaiming the shoreline of the Pocantico River by removing invasive species, constructing eel ladders and osprey platforms, and providing public viewing sites and accessibility to the water’s edge. Collaborative educational programming with the local school district is planned. Storefront hours of operation were dramatically curtailed during the pandemic. Retail struggled before the pandemic. We seek to emerge out of this 18-month coma with new direction and increased vitality resulting from our growing population.