North country gets Smart Growth grants
ALBANY — Several north country communities will share $1 million in Smart Growth grants in a variety of local, regional and Adirondack Park-wide initiatives.
The 18 grants, awarded Monday by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, are given to projects that promote sustainable development, community livability and environmental projection initiatives.
"Balancing stewardship of the environment with the economic, housing and infrastructure needs of our Adirondack villages, towns and counties is critically important," said Sen. Elizabeth O'C. Little, R-Queensbury. "I am pleased to see this partnership between the state and our local governments."
The town of Tupper Lake will get $100,000 for joint planning with the village of Tupper Lake to implement community development priorities, which include development of a visual identity through community design.
John F. Sheehan, spokesman for the Adirondack Council, noting that a developer is looking to build a 700-unit complex at the defunct Big Tupper ski resort , said his group hired a grant application expert to assist Tupper Lake in securing this Smart Growth grant.
"We have never done this before, but felt we could make a difference in whether Tupper received the state money or not," Mr. Sheehan said. "If the resort plan is rejected, Tupper still needs a plan to revitalize their ski hill and its downtown business district. If the resort is approved, Tupper officials will need to be very careful to avoid creating a brand-new community on the ski hill that drains investments away from the existing business district.
"Either way, careful planning is the only way to guide new development into affordable, sustainable locations," he said.
In an effort to improve area wireless communications, the town of Saranac will receive $106,971 to develop the "Wireless Clearinghouse" project to create a comprehensive plan for identifying potential structures for telecommunications infrastructure to better the park's wireless networks. SUNY Plattsburgh and the Adirondack North Country Association are the town's partners.
Local grants include:
■ The town of Fine will receive $98,250 to promote projects that strengthen local economic revitalization efforts. Fine's partners include the town of Clifton, the Clifton-Fine Economic Development Corp., and the Wildlife Conservation Society.
The money will provide an economic revitalization specialist for three years. The part-time worker will undertake economic development goals the communities have outlined over the past decade. Priorities include advocating for and helping the government cleanup of contamination at the former Jones & Laughlin Steel site in Star Lake, finding year-round uses for community centers and the golf course, and lobbying and working to improve cell phone and high-speed Internet connections.
"We've been doing so many things over the last several years and this should help us see it through to fruition," said Christopher L. Westbrook, president of the Clifton-Fine Economic Development Corp.
■ The St. Lawrence County Planning office was awarded $45,000 to inventory the types of recreation allowed within the parks patchwork of public and private lands. A map will show areas where things such as hunting, dog walking and camping are allowed.
■ Lewis County will use its $34,310 grant to develop a countywide comprehensive plan. Five towns — Greig, Croghan, Diana, Lyonsdale, and Watson — will partner with the county in this effort.
The estimated $178,420 project, being conducted by Rochester engineering firm Bergmann & Associates, is to be completed in late summer 2009, County Planner Renee J. Beyer said. Public input will be sought later this spring, she said.
Since its unveiling last July, DEC's Smart Growth initiative received $3 million worth of project proposals from throughout the Adirondack Park.
Times staff writers Steve Virkler and Corey Fram contributed to this report.
