North East hears from public on grant ideas

NORTH EAST — The Town Board held the requisite public hearing on ideas for its 2012 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application on Thursday, Aug. 11. A few ideas were put forth from the audience; two applicants were actually seeking different grants.The hearing is part of the “normal process” required by the county, according to town Supervisor Dave Sherman; the town must consider all suggestions before making its final decision. The county approves grant applications based on a priority list, and the amount of the grant depends on the type of project chosen (i.e., there is a $150,000 grant award maximum for infrastructure improvements like water main or sidewalk projects while there is a $100,000 grant award maximum for park improvement projects).Ralph Fedele, representing the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse, was the first member of the public to speak at the hearing. He said the group is applying to the New York State Office of Parks and Historical Places (NYSOPHP) for a $65,500 grant. The group is planning to move the 1858 schoolhouse from its Route 22 location to the Millerton trail head of the Harlem Valley Rail Trail. The NYSOPHP grant is unrelated to the block grant and its application is due in September. “Part of the process is to get municipalities to offer a statement backing the project,” Fedele said to the board. “I am asking the board for a statement that the movement [of the schoolhouse] will help economically and socially. It will help tourism and the business climate.”Fedele said he wants a “strong letter of support” to help improve the chances of the Friends of the Irondale Schoolhouse winning the grant. He is asking the same from State Assemblyman Marcus Molinaro and the Millerton Village Board. Fedele said he’s worked with Regional Grant Administrator Erin O’Brien to figure out the amount to request in the grant application. Since the project is estimated to cost $131,000, O’Brien suggested writing the grant application for 50 percent of the project, which amounts to $65,500.“This is a perfect match for the project,” Fedele said. “There is a portion that has to do with the National Register of Historic Places, and when we contacted the state, originally they said if we moved the structure it wouldn’t qualify [since it’s being relocated]. They’ve since changed their minds and are now reconsidering [granting us that designation].”Councilman Carl Stahovec asked Fedele if he was seeking a resolution from the board in support of the grant; Fedele said he was.“It’s stronger than a simple letter of recommendation,” he said. The board is considering the request and did not act on the resolution last week.Sherman clarified that the grant Fedele is seeking is “different than the block grant,” which was the focus of the public hearing. He said the Town Board was considering Fedele’s request that night because of that Sept. 1 deadline.Immediately following Fedele, Summer Recreation Director Jenn Parks spoke. She asked the board to consider applying for the block grant to help pay for a new pool at Eddie Collins Field. “Our pool is 50 years old and everything is original pretty much,” she said. “We did get one proposal from one company in Fishkill, but it’s more than the block grant, but I’m going to ask the village for [money for] the pool, too, so maybe it’s something the town and the village can entertain together.”In the past, the two municipalities have worked together and jointly been awarded block grant funds for shared projects. In addition to pursuing the CDBG, Parks said she is also going to apply for the same NYSOPHP grant that Fedele is applying for, which could mean the two projects would be competing for funds.Parks said to the best of her knowledge the village is currently favoring a sidewalk project for its block grant application, but she said she’s making the pool request regardless. Denny Pool, as it’s called, uses more than 6,000 gallons of water daily; it used more than 660,000 gallons last month, plus what was used to drain and then refill the pool before opening the facility. The pool has a major leak and is in bad shape, according to Parks, and it’s the only part of the village’s recreation area that is not handicapped accessible. The estimate for a new pool is roughly $400,000, although that could drop if the village does some of its own demolition work. That figure is for a 40-foot by 70-foot pool, which is slightly larger then the trapazoid-shaped pool that currently exists. It also includes a filtration system, about four fountains and a depth ranging from zero inches to 8 feet.Town Engineer Ray Jurkowski said he’s busy getting a second estimate, which could help the town and village reach a decision. Sherman said the board will consider the request, although he added, “The board does not have to decide at this juncture which idea to choose.”Parks simply said that “the only realistic way to get a new pool is through grant funding.”After a brief comment from Highway Superintendent Robert Stevens that he would always like a block grant application to request funding for road reconstruction, the conversation returned to the earlier discussion — and whether the town had to decide between the two larger proposals.Parks asked the question if the Town Board offered its support of the schoolhouse project, did that mean it could not therefore officially endorse the pool project simultaneously.Councilman Dave McGhee suggested not passing a resolution for the schoolhouse, but instead writing a letter of recommendation for both the schoolhouse and the pool. Fedele said there are four separate categories for the New York State Office of Parks and Historical Places grant, and the two projects likely won’t be competing against one another. Townscape member Cathy Fenn confirmed his supposition later in the meeting. McGhee suggested the applicants both provide the Town Board with all of the information needed regarding the grant applications so the board can consider them and then make its decision. It will do so at a special meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall. That meeting will also cover other items, including town workers’ health insurance, workman’s compensation and website development. The block grant application, for which the public hearing was closed at the end of last week’s discussion, will be discussed once again by board members at their next regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8. The CDBG application must be sent into the county by early October.

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