BY ADAM ATKINSON

North Country This Week

POTSDAM — The Potsdam village board of trustees recently heard an update on the status of the village’s state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding grant.

“I think we are in kind of a ‘hurry up and wait’ situation,” said village planning director Frederick J. Hanss, at the village board meeting Monday, Feb. 22.

“The (village’s) plan has been submitted to the state. The state agencies have reviewed it and they are in the process of making recommendations. And the governor will deal with it in his own time,” he said.

The village is due to receive $9.7 million of $10 million state funding for local economic and cultural development projects through the DRI program as the 2019 winner of the competitive, regional award process. The DRI essentially channels state tax dollars into individual communities chosen annually by the state in regions across New York. A public committee worked to develop a list of about 14 eligible projects to submit to the state for consideration to receive the funding.

“For now, we are kind of in a holding pattern,” Hanss said.

The planning director told the trustees that other 2019 DRI communities around the state are also currently on hold with their projects as well.

He said that when the pandemic shutdown was implemented in March 2020, the review process was stalled and now has to be restarted. “All ten plans (from the DRI communities) have to be reviewed, all ten plans have to be vetted by state agencies and then they have to go to the governor,” Hanss said. “It’s quite an undertaking but we will hang in there.”

In other grant initiatives, last week the village applied for a $30,000 grant through the state’s environmental planning grant program Hanss said. He said the funding will help pay for a study for underwater sewer lines between Fall Island and Garner Park to the main line on the east side of the river. The village has committed $6,000 to the study he said.

Don’t Miss a Story!

Keep up with local government & schools, police & fire news, help wanted ads, upcoming events, obituaries, letters from viewers, news of your friends & neighbors, & much more!
Subscribe today for just $1.44 per week
 Thank you.