Cobleskill To Resubmit For DRI

COBLESKILL - A handful of residents showed up to the informational meeting at the library last Tuesday to learn more about the two grants that Cobleskill plans to be in the running for.

Hosted by Brendon Becker of Lamont Engineers and Mayor Rebecca Stanton-Terk, they explained that Cobleskill will be resubmitting for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and NY Forward grants at the same time.

Both the DRI and NY Forward are state funds that are awarded to a community that shows readiness for significant accessibility, quality of life, and economic growth benefits within a given area in the municipality.

To show this readiness, communities must compile a multitude of projects that they believe fit the judging criteria. This list is first established by the local residents, then a technical advisor provided by the state helps narrow it down further to give the township the best odds at winning.

The DRI is the bigger of the two, totaling around ten million dollars, with the NY Forward grant being smaller in scope at four and a half million. Despite encouraging dual applications, however, a community may only be granted one of the two.

Last year, Cobleskill pitted their own downtown area for these redevelopment grants against the rest of the state, yet part of the reason why they lost is because their chosen area was too large for the state’s liking.

This time around, Cobleskill plans to resubmit the same projects from last year while fixing the technical issues that led to their loss, listening to community feedback all the while.

With fourteen projects in all, there are plans to provide more accessibility around the Village, including sidewalks leading to the hospital and bicycle lanes on the side streets, and establish economic growth opportunities, with investments into the fairgrounds and the library while building a business facade fund to help owners repair the exteriors of their shops.

In addition to these, Cobleskill will also have numerous projects that focus on quality of life, such as painting the railroad overpass by the former Pizza Hut, putting public art on display on Main Street, and building a community garden.

“We want to submit the strongest application as possible, and we intend to,” said Mayor Stanton-Terk, commenting on how she believes they hit each crucial area. 

Those in the audience suggested a wide array of what they would like to see included, such as more to deal with the housing shortage, fixing up Golding Park, and creating lanes for electric scooters on the road. 

Mr. Becker and Mayor Stanton-Terk took these into account before ending the short conference, concluding that they would love to see more participation either through their survey or by attending the next informational meeting.