By Shawn Magrath
Sun Staff Writer
smagrath@evesun.com
CHENANGO COUNTY – More than $1 million in state grants will make its way to Chenango County as part of the recently announced third round of economic development funding for New York State.
State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that $715.9 million was awarded through this year’s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. Ten regional councils were established in 2011 to help promote economic development across the state. The effort allows community, business and academic leaders to tailor specific strategic plans for the region to support economic growth through job creation and the promotion of local businesses.
This year, the Southern Tier was dubbed a “Top Performer” for regional economic development awards, earning a total $81.9 million in grants to implement an economic development plan that encompasses Chenango, Steuben, Schuyler, Chemung, Tompkins, Tioga, Broome and Delaware counties. The characterization marks a strong follow-up to the $91.1 million awarded to the Southern Tier region in 2012 after submitting the “Best Plan” among the ten economic development regions.
“We are very happy this process has been streamlined and refined in the three years its been in place,” said Commerce Chenango President and CEO Steve Craig. “I think Chenango County has been well served in this process.”
The $1 million designated for Chenango County will be divvied into eight separate grants to go directly to county governments and not for profit organizations. Highlights include $266,416 in Community Development Block Grant funds to assist the Chenango County ARC in renovating its three group homes and five supportive housing apartments – totaling 33 beds – for the developmentally disabled. Another $150,000 will be awarded to the Development Chenango Corporation for rehabilitation of two properties in the City of Norwich, one being a dilapidated three story commercial property located 42, 44-46 N. Broad St. and the other being the former Salvation Army building located at 17-19 S. Broad St. (which is currently undergoing renovations to become the new home of The Artists’ Palette art supply store in Norwich).
The Family Enrichment Network wil receive $100,000 in Empire State Development Grants for start-up of a child care center. The project will reestablish a licensed child care center in Norwich to meet the needs of working parents in Chenango County by removing the barrier of dependent care as an obstacle to steady employment. And the Save the Sherburne Inn Restoration Project (SSIRP) – a not for profit group committed to restoring the historic Inn locate on the main square in downtown Sherburne – will get a $500,000 match grant through the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. It is the largest amount awarded to any organization in the county.
“We have already met match requirements with the purchase of the building,” said SSIRP President Kathleen Yasas, noting that state grant funding adds to a $50,000 grant awarded the organization by the Howard K Finch Memorial Foundation in July. “A little over a year ago, we were all wondering how we were going to keep the inn from being torn down. Today, I received a phone call telling me that the State of New Yok believes in our project to the tune of half a million dollars. Needless to say, we are very excited. We have a long way to go but this is a momentous first step.”
Other grant recipients include: the Village of Greene, slated to receive $30,000 for its ongoing wastewater treatment facility evaluations and improvements study; $20,000 to the Village of New Berlin for completion of a sanitary sewer system engineering study; $9,500 to the Village of Oxford to use to complete a study of the village to determine eligibility for future New York Main Street Program funding; and $10,785 to the Chenango Arts Council through the New York State Council on the Arts to purchase theatrical equipment, including lighting and sound systems. According to Chenango Arts Council Executive Director Victoria Kappel, improved equipment will allow the council to book high quality performers, thus driving ticket sales and further contributing to economic development in the county.
“The Chenango Arts Council is very pleased to be a recipient of Regional Economic Development Council funds,” Kappel stated. “This grant will enable the (Arts) Council to upgrade and replace current technical equipment in the Martin W. Kappel Theater, increase the amount of light and sound equipment, and provide enhanced safety equipment for our theater technicians.”
Kappel added, “All of this will lead to increased enjoyment of our events by our patrons, opportunities to bring in more technically sophisticated presentations and a wider range of options for organizations and businesses looking to rent the facility.”
Said 52nd District State Senator Tom Libous, who also serves on the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, “I’m looking forward to the Main Street renovations, the Chenango County ARC renovations for the developmentally disabled, the waterfront revitalization, the child center in Norwich and the many other projects that will help spark economic development and give us a better standard of living in Chenango County.”