Rochester, NY - County Executive candidate Adam Bello today announced “Moving
Monroe Forward” – his proposal for the development of a new Comprehensive Master
Plan for Monroe County, the first of its kind in 40 years. One that ensures county
government stops spending the tax dollars of hardworking families without a strategic
vision for how that money will build a stronger future for Monroe County.
“We need a plan for our future, not one that keeps us stuck in our past. When I’m elected County Executive the status quo will no longer be good enough,” Bello stated. “It’s time for new ideas, new energy, and new leadership that will bring people together and invest in our community. I believe in the extraordinary potential of the people in Monroe County and together we can build a brighter future.”
Bello, who served as Irondequoit Town Supervisor prior to his current role as
County Clerk, made his announcement from the Imaginarium at I-Square, a building he
said exemplifies his vision for what can happen in Monroe County if the government
gets serious about planning for its future.
“When I was running for Supervisor in Irondequoit, it quickly came to my
attention that the town had not updated its comprehensive plan since I was 5 years old.
Upon taking office in January 2014, an update of that plan was priority number one
because we knew we couldn’t move forward as a community if our plan represented
our past. We held public hearings, focus groups, and gave everyone an opportunity to
participate, because the community deserved a seat at the table and needed to be
invested in our plan if it was going to be successful. The impact of such a collective
effort is visible here today.”
Adam Bello for County Executive – P.O. Box 90793 - Rochester, NY 14609
I-Square, Bello noted, is the classic example of how having a blueprint and collective goals is helpful in driving progress. Initially conceived of in the Titus-Cooper-Hudson Master Plan that predated the Master Plan in 2014, I-Square was the result of a community stakeholder effort that developed a vision of what would be best for the
area.
Turning to Monroe County, Bello highlighted that there hasn’t been an update to
the Comprehensive Plan since 1979. “The fact of the matter is, the guiding document for
how Monroe County should spend over $1 billion a year was created before I was born
- at a time when nearly 40% of our labor force was in the manufacturing industry and
when Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, and Xerox still dominated our regional economy.”
Bello continued, “In the last 40 years, our community has undergone a transformation,
and our county government has been content to spend over $30 billion without
adjusting our plan to fit our changing landscape.”
In his remarks, Bello proposed embarking on the development of a new
Comprehensive Plan for Monroe County through a process driven by community
stakeholders and focused on developing a collective vision for the future. Bello
identified core values which may serve to drive the plan, including, but not limited to:
economic growth, aging in place, environmental sustainability, infrastructure
investments, community wellness, and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to reach
their full potential, regardless of their zip code. Continued Bello, “Building a safe,
healthy, sustainable, and thriving community will only be possible if we put a process
in place that engages the community in a broader conversation, grants stakeholders
from across our community a voice in decision making and generates collective goals
for our future.” Something he said the current county administration has failed to do. Lorie Barnum, a former Irondequoit Town Board Member and current County
Legislature candidate for the 16th Legislative District, added, “What we achieved in
Irondequoit is possible for Monroe County. But to do so, we need a County Executive
willing to collaborate and listen, a leader who recognizes the value in collective action,
one who isn’t satisfied with the status quo of spending over $1 billion a year without a
plan in place to ensure that money is spent on creating an environment in which all of
our hardworking families can thrive.”
In the coming months, Bello will continue to highlight the core areas he believes
the community should be focused on as it develops a plan for the future.