Committee authorizes Chemung County to apply for Empire State housing infrastructure grant

The Chemung County Multi Services Committee approved a resolution authorizing the county to apply for and accept funds from the New York Empire State Development Infrastructure Grant, including projects tied to infrastructure for new housing.

County staff told the committee the grant is for the county, not for the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) or Southern Tier Economic Growth (STEG), and that the county executive, as chief elected officer, signs the application. "The grant is for the county and only eligible for the county," a county staff member said. "You get 500,000 if you wanna do a project like, sidewalks, but you get a million dollars if you wanna do a project that's associated with infrastructure for new housing."

Why it matters: the Empire State development program makes counties eligible for either $500,000 or $1,000,000 depending on project type; staff said the governor's office made $50,000,000 available statewide. Committee members pressed staff on why the application appeared routed through the planning department and how funds would be administered if awarded.

County staff said the county planning department did not originate the project and that the county will apply for the grant. "We're simply having STEG and the IDA administrated because they have a project outlined for it," the staff member said. The staff member added the county would be the grant recipient and that STEG and the IDA would act as project administrators and prepare application materials. On reporting, staff said the state will request quarterly reports that must come from the county, not from STEG or the IDA.

Committee members asked whether proposed projects had been made public. The staff member said project materials had been shared with some legislators and the legislative chairman; the staff member offered to leave copies with the clerk of the legislature for committee members to review. The staff member also said there was a near-term application deadline and that the county aimed to expedite submission.

A motion to authorize the county to apply for and accept the grant was made and seconded; the committee approved the resolution by voice vote. There was no recorded roll-call tally in the committee transcript.

The committee discussion also noted that multiple housing project proposals exist and that the county was confirming with proposers whether the projects could be made public before attaching them to the resolution. The staff member said the project had been sent to the legislative chairman and to some legislators on Feb. 6 but that not all committee members had received the materials prior to the meeting.

Committee members asked that future resolutions include clearer references to previously approved budget or project materials; one member suggested referring to the relevant budget presentation so reviewers can find project details without requesting additional materials.