you ever want to live anywhere else when you can have access to the number of things we have here and still have one of the lowest costs of living in the United States.” To support this, the county has hired a consultant team to assess existing attractions and identify gaps, helping shape a more strategic approach to growing the visitor economy.“The vision (plan) is a wonderful thing, and it’s great because it takes an assessment of where we are, and it talks about where we want to be, but we really need a plan of action to get there, and the visitor economy will be one element of that,” says Testani. MEETING HOUSING CHALLENGES On the housing front, Chenango County is in a similar situation to many rural regions, with plenty of housing stock, but much of it currently uninhabitable. “We have thousands of empty dwellings in Chenango County,”Testani details.“Part of the challenge is that many of those have fallen into disrepair and need 23 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 CHENANGO COUNTY, NY
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