Dunkirk takes step toward its goal

It will just take time.
Dunkirk has applied for the state’s Stellar Communities designation each of the last four years. With that moniker would have come millions in state grants and tax credits for a variety of projects in the city.
The goal was to knock out several big improvements to the downtown area in one fell swoop, potentially transforming Dunkirk overnight.
A finalist in the division for municipalities with fewer than 6,000 residents in 2015, local officials were optimistic this year. Then the city failed to make the finalist list. That result was disappointing, but it’s not keeping Dunkirk down.
Those who have been involved in the major projects — moving the library and glass museum to the Stewart Brothers building, constructing a senior housing facility and adding downtown lighting and Safe Routes to School — associated with the Stellar Communities applications promised to move ahead on them as best they could without the influx of state backing.
Mayor Gene Ritter and Dunkirk City Council took a step in that direction at Monday’s meeting when they agreed to start setting aside $50,000 per year for lighting along Main Street from Highland Avenue (near West Jay Middle School) to Chestnut Street on the south side of the city. The city will also be applying for a grant for the project.
The goal is that by setting a chunk of funds aside each year, the city will have enough money to install the lighting in 2021.
That seems a long way off, and it is. But it’s still progress.
It would have been nice if Dunkirk had been able to complete all of its projects at once thanks to a Stellar Designation. But given that such a windfall isn’t coming — at least not this year — it’s good to see the city making tangible moves toward achieving its goals in the long term.
Progress sometimes can be frustratingly slow, but it only comes if there is a plan.
Dunkirk has one. Now it’s just a matter of time. — R.C.