By Jason Emerson

Editor

The latest round of regional state grants was announced Dec. 18, and the village of Cazenovia and various projects in Madison County were among the award winners in the Central New York region. The region received $88.2 million through the latest round of the Regional Economic Development Council Award and was labelled a “top performer” this year.

Established in 2011, the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative empowers communities, business and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.

The village of Cazenovia received two grants during this round, totaling over $160,000.

The village received a $132,000 grant for “Burton Street Park Enhancement,” which will enhance the infrastructure at Burton Street Park by replacing the existing building and improving the parking area. The goal is to provide a safer, universally accessible park that can be enjoyed year-round by all residents and visitors.

The village also received a $31,125 grant for the “Cazenovia Component Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.” Using this grant, the village and town of Cazenovia will prepare a joint Component Local Waterfront Revitalization Program for its Cazenovia Lake and Chittenango Creek waterfronts to ensure waterfront development projects will provide a balance between public enjoyment, economic development and preservation of natural resources. The plan will focus on enhancing public waterfront access, revitalizing downtowns, protecting community historic character, improving recreation and tourism amenities.

Both grants were received with the assistance of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA).

“The village is delighted to hear the great news about the grants from this round of the REDC and appreciates the efforts of Lauren Lines and CACDA to help us secure this funding,” said Mayor Kurt Wheeler. “The first grant will help us to transform the Burton Street park facility to better serve the youth and families of the whole area year-round. The second will be a major first step to planning and implementing a long-term strategy to update the beautiful 19th century Lakeland Park area to serve our community and region throughout the 21st century.”

Lines added that the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program grant “will allow us to plan and implement projects not only at Lakeland Park but throughout the community and in proximity to both Cazenovia Lake and Chittenango Creek which were both identified as ‘designated inland waterways’ by the New York State Legislature earlier this year.”

The village was not the only one in Cazenovia to receive a state grant. Knowles Cazenovia received $1.8 million to expand its production capacity, including facility renovations and installing new machinery and equipment. This project will allow Knowles Cazenovia to “better compete in the growing radio frequency filtering market and allow it to meet the increasing need for microelectronic components that enable 5G telecommunication technology and infrastructure,” according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Knowles Cazenovia’s $1.8 million grant will be part of an approximately $9 million investment to expand its production capacity at its facility in Cazenovia, according to the governor’s office.

County receives $500,000 for Delphi Falls park

Another big winner in this round of state grants was Madison County, which received $500,000 to undertake a park development project at the newly acquired Delphi Falls County Park in southern Madison County at the edge of the town of Cazenovia.

According to the county, this grant will be used to make the lower falls accessible to persons with disabilities, develop loop trail and viewing access to both the lower and upper falls, install park amenities, undertake a structural analysis of the house and barn, and to make related physical and recreational improvements to the property.

County Chairman John M. Becker, in his Dec. 19 “Message from the Chairman,” said the grant will “go towards a new walking bridge and some improvements for that new park” that opened to the public this year.

Madison County acquired the 65-acre property in May 2018, which includes acres of woodland and riparian forest along the East Branch of Limestone Creek, steep gorge walls, a house, barn and the upper (54 feet) and lower (62 feet) Delphi Falls.

The park “certainly is already paying dividends for the folks of Madison County,” Becker said.

State Assemblyman-elect John Salka, who helped acquire the park while serving on the County Board of Supervisors, said all the state grants awarded to Central New York are exciting.

“The process required that we prove that the funds would be spent to further the quality of life in our communities, and that burgeoning industries in our county may be given every opportunity to realize its fullest potential,” said Salka who will represent NY-121 starting Jan. 1. “My congratulations to the recipients of these grants, and we look forward to working with our state to further economic development and employment in Madison County. As the new representative for Madison County in the assembly, I will work in partnership with those respective agencies to make sure our county continues to receive it’s fair share of economic development funds in the future.”

During Round VIII of the REDC awards, the Strategic Implementation Assessment Team (SIAT), which is composed of state agency commissioners and members of the New York State Legislature, traveled to Rome, Rochester and White Plains to receive presentations on this year’s proposals from each of the ten Regional Councils directly and assessed the implementation of the regions’ strategic plans.

In 2018, all 10 REDCs competed for designation as a “Top Performer.” Five Top Performers will receive up to $20 million in additional Empire State Development grant funding to support priority projects, with the remaining five regions receiving up to $10 million. Additionally, each region is eligible for up to $75 million in additional Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits to help attract and grow businesses in the region.

After eight rounds of the REDC process, more than $6.1 billion has been awarded to more than 7,300 job creation and community development projects consistent with each region’s strategic plans, projecting to create and retain more than 230,000 jobs, according to the governor’s office.

For more information on the Regional Councils, visit regionalcouncils.ny.gov.