Kudos to Brian Nelson, owner of 15 W. Main St., Falconer, for quickly removing the debris from a building destroyed by fire in January and eliminating any safety and health risks on the site. And, village officials have secured financial help from the Chautauqua County Land Bank and agreements from property owners of two properties that were destroyed by fire in March 2017.

That means the time is now to begin reimagining what Main Street, Falconer, should look like for the next several decades.

The Greater Falconer Area Economic Development Commission has been meeting since last year. The group’s work will take on greater urgency now. It is good to hear Jim Rensel, Falconer mayor, say there will be community involvement in the process to redevelop the now-vacant gaps on Main Street. There is obviously a lot of community interest in the topic; Rensel is wise to use that community interest to find development projects that will benefit the Falconer community and satisfy as many interested community members as possible. Village officials have done a good job making sure the public is notified of the meetings. We hope community members interested in shaping the village’s future take advantage of this opportunity.