CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST OF CFA AWARDS
County Getting
$3.5M In CFAs
For 13 Projects
Richfield Springs Business Park,
Energy Task Force, Downtown
Oneonta Among Biggest Winners
By JIM KEVLIN • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ALBANY — The Village of Richfield Springs was the big local winner today, receiving $1,325,000 in the annual round of state economic development grants announced this morning at The Egg in Albany.
In all, the county received $3.5 million in so-called CFA grants through the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council, including $325,000 to fast-track development of the Richfield Springs Industrial Park, and $1 million to reduce runoffs into Canadarago Lake.
“The award-winning projects in the 51st Senate District,” said state Sen. Jim Seward, “are extremely diverse and will pay long-term dividends when it comes to job creation, quality of life, environmental protection, and new opportunities for growth.”
Other highlights of the CFAs (acronym for the state’s consolidated funding application) include:
• $800,000 for Springbrook, in collaboration with Fox Hospital and the college, to convert the upper stories of the historic Ford Block in downtown Oneonta into 18 high-end apartments for executives and professionals.
• Otsego County received $50,000 for its Energy Task Force to conduct a community energy plan, and another $27,000 for a Partnership for a Greener Tomorrow, which will develop a greenhouse gas inventory for all its communities.
• $25,000 for Worcester and Schenevus central schools to conduct a merger study. The two schools are expecting to split the cost of the remaining $25,000 for the $50,000 study. Schenevus Central has concluded it no longer has the resources to continue alone.
• The Baseball Hall of Fame and Fenimore Art Museum were big winners again, the former receiving $320,00 for videos of its collection, which will be distributed through Youtube and social media; the latter, $121,000 to promote “never-before-seen” Keith Haring originals, next summer’s keynote exhibit.
• The City of Oneonta received about $250,000 — $180,000 to move Hartwick College’s Grain Innovation Center into the prospective Lofts on Dietz, and another $72,000 for a plan to redevelop the waterfront along with the Town of Oneonta.
• The Village of Cooperstown received $145,000 for a salt storage shed, to prevent salt from entering an aquifer.
