Public a no-show at block grant hearing

AMENIA — Few attended a public hearing held by the Town Board on Thursday to gather ideas for the town’s 2008 Community Development Block Grant application (CDBG).

Only Waste Water Committee Chairwoman Darlene Riemer, grants writer Michael Hagerty and Highway Superintendent Stanley Whitehead were in the audience.

After a brief discussion and suggestions of ideas ranging from creating affordable housing units to buying water meters, the board eventually decided to use their CDBG application to apply for funds for a project that will extend the sidewalk from Freshtown Plaza on Route 22 to the hamlet. The application is for $150,000 in grant funding.

Hagerty said the sidewalk extension is a good idea for the town.

“I’m pretty sure I can get letters of support from businesses on the project,� Hagerty said. “Sidewalks are definitely a priority infrastructure.�

The board discussed the possibility of adding a project that would create a sidewalk from Beekman Park to the hamlet. However, town Supervisor Janet Reagon said it would not be possible to do two different sidewalk projects with the grant funds.

Despite the lack of public attendance, Councilman Wayne Euvrard told the board the town should go ahead and apply for the grant.

“We had the public hearing and I don’t think anything is going to change,� Euvrard said.

At the meeting, the board asked Whitehead if there were any possible highway projects that could be funded with CDBG money. He said the department could not take on any more projects due to the heavy workload of completing repair projects that are being funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“We have too many FEMA projects we are working on,� Whitehead said. “The FEMA projects need to be completed at a certain date.�

The block grant application is due to the county in early October. A decision on whether or not the town is awarded the CDBG grant will not be made until January.