WALSH ANNOUNCES $46,800 IN ADDITIONAL FEDERAL FUNDING FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE IN DISTRICT COMMUNITIES

(Syracuse, New York)- Congressman Jim Walsh today announced the award of $46,800 in federal funding for infrastructure and water system improvements in 3 communities throughout the district. The grants will be provided through the Governor's Office for Small Cities (GOSC) Community Development Program, Strategic Planning and Technical Assistance round, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

These grants follow almost $1.5 million in federal funding recently released by the GOSC. Those grants went to communities in Wayne and Cayuga Counties to help rehabilitate housing, provide modifications for homes with handicapped residents, and improve public sewers and wastewater treatment facilities.

"I am pleased that Governor Pataki is awarding Small Cities funding to communities in Wayne and Cayuga Counties," said Walsh. "This investment will help implement specific plans for improving those communities and enhancing quality of life."

Congressman Walsh, former chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with fiscal oversight over HUD, was instrumental in transferring the Small Cities award program to New York State control several years ago. Previously, New York had been one of only two states in the nation that did not control the dispersing of such funds. The Governor's Office for Small Cities evaluates applications annually and disperses New York State's funding allotment.

Awards announced today include:
· County of Cayuga -- $16,800. The county proposes to expand the State Route 31 corridor in the Mentz/Port Byron area eastward to the Village of Weedsport and the Town of Brutus. Attention will be paid to the Weedsport central business district, traffic control, and promoting features of the two communities along the Erie Canal.

· Town of Wolcott -- $15,000. The town will implement a water supply improvement program over several years, assess resident support for expanding the system, and consider alternatives for maintaining the system.

· Town of Ontario -- $15,000. A coordinated downtown strategic plan is needed is vital to the town’s long-term economic sustainability and the vehicle that can restore economic health to the central business district. The planning process will partner the town and the Ontario BID with residents, business owners, civic and community organizations to complete and implement the plan.
 

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