May 21st, 2018
HORNELL, NY – IDA and city officials held an open to the public meeting Monday night before the regular Common Council meeting to explain the Revitalization Grant they are seeking and also to get feedback and answer questions from the public on the subject. About 20 people were in attendance.
The grant has been issued for a few years now and previous recipients have been Olean, Jamestown, Elmira, and just this past year Watkins Glen. Hornell applied for the grant last year and just missed out on the next phase coming in 4th out of 14 applicants. The top three choices travel to Binghamton as a team to state their case to justify the grant and eventually one is selected.
Hornell Mayor John Buckley, taking advantage of the previous knowledge of the former Mayor and now IDA consultant Shawn Hogan, appointed him to lead thier team in preparing and submitting the application which is due June 1st.
Hogan hopes to sway the committee with what he calls the “wow factor”. “Look at everything we have accomplished in the city in the last few years without the grant,” said Hogan, “We have new housing going up all around us, new businesses popping up, a bike trail unique to western NY, and a brand new hospital soon to open. We have a lot of positives that put us in a good position to receive the grant.”
If Hornell is successful, then the state will come in and decide how to allocate the funds, in conjunction with the community input. Projects considered will usually have the biggest visual impact on the city.
In the regular session of the Common Council’s monthly meeting, four resolutions were passed. The first was the transfer of funds to close out the appropriation accounts for the fiscal years 2017-2018.
The second and third resolutions were to go forward with a SEQR and NEPA for the rehabilitation of the sewer trunk line on Maple Street (Seneca to Church Street) and along Ontario Street (from Pine Street to the west bank of the Canisteo River). Funding for this will be from the Community Development Block Grant the city received.
And finally, the city of Hornell has agreed to let the Mayor enter into a mutual cooperation agreement with the village of Canisteo whereby Water Pollution Control Plant manager Rich Dunning will perform oversight and other duties on behalf of the village at their Waste Water Pollution Control Plant.
