BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — Ogdensburg City Council will seek a RESTORE NY grant to help offset costs of demolishing the former cheese plant on Main Street.

A public hearing required to move forward with the grant application will be held Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Ogdensburg City Council recently passed a resolution to tear down the former Cheese Plant and seven other properties at a cost not to exceed $371,000.

The long defunct cheese plant has been an eye sore for the city for some time and more recently has raised safety concerns as well as the interior of the building has mold and a suspicious fire there in recent weeks remains under investigation.

The initial resolution raised Monday was to authorize a contract to demolish properties on Brown Street, Paterson Street, New York Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, Lake Street and Irvin Street.

However the Cheese Plant at 30 Main Street was added to the list via an amendment raised by councilor Nichole Kennedy which was approved unanimously.

The RESTORE NY grant application will also seek funding for 1223 Pickering Street, which is owned by the Ogdensburg Volunteer Rescue Squad.

City Planner Andrea Smith said there is a proposal from a person named Rob Noble to purchase an unused portion of the former Hackett’s Store and convert it back into retail space. She said the conversion of retail space is an eligible use for the grant.

Smith said the application would be shaped based on information gathered at the upcoming public hearing. She noted that there are two types of grants - one is up to $2 million, the other is up to $10 million. She said the city can apply for two of either of the grant options.

City Councilor John Rishe sought clarification as to which grants the application would be seeking, but Smith said that information would be provided following the hearing in the form of a recommendation from staff.