“This is my effort to get people engaged in the community.”
The Palmyra Improvement Association held its first meeting late last month and had an unexpectedly high turnout of more than 30 residents.
The Palmyra Improvement Association is a “grassroots effort to beautify the public spaces of Palmyra,” according to resident and founder John Casparro. The group is currently nonprofit and Casparro is planning to have it established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization so donations made will be tax deductible.
The idea behind the association is to allow residents and businesses to invest in improving Palmyra directly as opposed to investing through taxes and local government.
“This is my effort to get people engaged in the community,” Casparro said.
The first meeting was held at Central Baptist Church and covered upcoming plans for the association, including insurance and meeting spaces. Casparro said as soon as he can get insurance for the PIA, he hopes to hold the monthly meetings in the Palmyra Community Center.
He also discussed the Palmyra public works department. The PIA will work with, not against, public works to beautify the town.
Other ideas discussed include planting flower beds, a potential farmer’s market and assisting with the Riverfront Park. Casparro is hoping to have new councilwoman Mindie Weiner on his side, as Weiner has expressed interest herself in seeing a farmer’s market in Palmyra.
Casparro came up with the idea for the association last year when he realized much of Palmyra was unaware of improvement efforts, namely the Riverfront Park. He has been in discussions with improvement associations from other towns such as Riverton to gain insight. Casparro believes the Palmyra Improvement Association will engage residents while also spreading awareness and improving the community.
Casparro originally presented the idea on Facebook to gauge interest, and says he got an impressive response from residents.
“I seemed to get a lot of reaction from residents who want to be involved, who want to volunteer,” he said. “I think the need is mainly for the residents to gain confidence in the town.”
Casparro added he thinks the biggest issue in Palmyra is the image of the town.
“Everyone who lives here knows it’s great,” Casparro said. “The idea is to push to improve our image.”
One of Casparro’s biggest goals is to start distributing grants for residents who want to improve the outside of their homes but can’t afford to do so. He plans to raise money for the PIA through resident crowdfunding.
“Maybe somebody who has more [money] will donate to the PIA in hopes that their neighbor will do their front lawn or fix their porch or paint their house,” Casparro said. “I think it will be something to help get that confidence from the residents to want to promote their town, to want to talk about it, to want to post pictures online.”
The date for the next Palmyra Improvement Association meeting has not yet been announced.
