Some $7.9 million in economic and community development funding was awarded to projects in Warren and Washington counties through Round VII of the New York state’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
The funds include money going to the village of Lake George and Warren County for projects that will ultimately help protect the lake’s water quality.
The village gets $2.5 million to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant to better treat its effluent. The project will improve the quality of the discharged effluent, preventing the release of nutrients and bacteria into the lake. Another $200,000 will help initiate a regional winter de-icing program among several municipalities using road brine as an alternative to traditional rock salt. This project will lessen the stress on the local environment including wetlands, local streams and Lake George.
Warren County will get $600,000 to advance efforts to eradicate aquatic invasive species in the Lake George basin. The project will implement a three-year strategy to assess and remove all dense beds of Eurasian watermilfoil from Lake George utilizing benthic matting, hand harvesting, or other accepted method of removal. In addition, the project will support the staffing of five boat inspection/decontamination stations to ensure that vessels entering Lake George do not contain aquatic invasive species.
Other funded projects include $400,000 to West Mountain Ski Area to invest in infrastructure improvements, new snowmaking equipment and facility enhancements to expand winter sports, year-round activities and amenities.
Stored Technology Solutions (StoredTech), will receive $405,000 to expand operations by constructing and relocating into a new headquarters in Glens Falls.
The Regional Economic Development Council initiative doled out a total of $75 million statewide. The initiative empowers community, business, and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources in order to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.
“Over the past seven years, the Regional Economic Development Councils have successfully brought together the most innovative minds in economic development, fostering collaboration between state and local leaders to invest in New York’s regional resources from the ground up,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “These awards are critical to building the foundations for New York’s future and ensuring that our economic momentum continues.”
Other awards in Warren and Washington counties went to:
• Glens Falls, $363,750 to advance the Redevelopment and Connection Plan for Pruyn’s Island by designing and constructing an extension to the “Hudson Walk” multi-use trail and installation of a pedestrian footbridge spanning the Champlain Feeder Canal to connect the adjacent residential neighborhoods to Pruyn’s Island. The project will enhance visual and physical public access to the Hudson River and provide a connection to the existing Feeder Canal Trail.
• EDC Warren County, $25,000 fort a feasibility study addressing the challenges and impediments to employment within the Warren County Opportunity Zone.
• Flomatic Corp., Glens Falls, $650,000 for facility expansion and the purchase and installation of a new epoxy coating system.
• Hudson Hollow Hops, OP’s Microbrewery, Chestertown, $90,000 to establish a micro-brewery, including a tasting room and an educational conference tasting room for special events, and a hop farm to supply hops for the production of craft beer.
• Town of Lake George Department of Public Works, $25,000, for a consolidation/joint motorpool study to assess the feasibility of consolidating the town and village DPWs into one department and merge facilities.
• Town of Lake George, $100,000 to complete an engineering report to evaluate the Caldwell Sewer District (CSD) to identify inflow and infiltration locations as well as investigate pump stations within the District to determine their condition.
• Town of Lake George, $125,000 to implement four roadside and five streambank stabilization projects to reduce soil erosion. This project will reduce sediment loading and prevent the deposition of suspended solids, phosphorous and nitrogen, thereby increase the water quality of Lake George.
• Town of Lake George, $120,000 to rehabilitate several thousand linear feet of existing sewer main on Beach Road, Westbrook Road, and possibly a section of Sewell Street via slip lining, lining approximately 24 manholes, all of which are currently susceptible to infiltration and inflow. This will restore structural integrity of the infrastructure, removing the possibility of raw sewage entering Lake George from the sewer mains.
• Queensbury, $47,500 to complete a town-wide affordable housing strategy.
• Warren County, $43,237 to complete a building study for the county’s Countryside Adult Home.
• Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, $143,398 to work with partners to implement five stormwater retrofit projects in the towns of Queensbury and Lake George. The projects are expected to capture and filter stormwater runoff and recharge groundwater, improving aquatic habitat, and reducing nutrient inputs and streambank erosion.
• Lake George Convention Visitors Bureau & Chamber of Commerce, $166,410 to provide opportunities for industry professionals, businesses and public officials to interact and learn from adventure industry experts around the globe and to share best practices.
• Lake George Land Conservancy, $40,000 to reconstruct and reroute the Pilot Knob Trail in an effort to protect environmental resources, decrease erosion, improve safety, and walkability. The expansion project will include interpretive educational signs that will draw attention to the area’s unique natural assets and features.
• Hubbard Hall Projects Inc., $63,200 to establish a year-long training program for recent graduates aimed at giving students the skills and hands-on experience they need to pursue careers in arts administration.
• Hudson River Music Hall, $48,750 to expand the executive director position to executive director/artistic director of the Strand Theater and Hudson River Music Hall Productions Inc. The position will move from part time to full time to increase programming and overall impact on the community.
• Town of Greenwich, $32,000 to develop a master plan for Battenkill River Waterfront Park. Work will include an inventory of existing land resources and physical facilities, a topographic survey and review of existing programs and activities. The project goal is to create a strategic road map for gradually implementing improvements that will provide enhanced recreation space, trail opportunities, and universal access to the waterfront.
• Hudson Falls, $500,000 to assist in the renovation of a historic Warren County courthouse located in its downtown.
• Hudson Falls, $750,000 for water system improvements along John Street.
• Washington County, in partnership with the towns of Fort Ann and Whitehall, $430,000 to design improvements to the northern portion of the Champlain Canalway Trail bringing the trail onto the public right-of-way adjacent to the canal. Work will include surveying, archeological and cultural review, environmental analysis and final trail design.
• Washington County, $42,500 to conduct a community-needs assessment plan to focus on emergency, temporary, and transitional housing services and facilities.
• Washington County Sewer District 2, $977,200 to relocate a combined sanitary/storm sewer main from private property to a public right of way, separate sanitary and storm sewers and install new sewer lines. The project will eliminate sanitary sewer overflow that poses a public health hazard.