Community Center, Housing Lead List Of Projects Proposed For Waterville

The Village of Waterville’s transformation from a New York Forward grant moved closer with the announcement of what projects will be considered.

Last week, the projects submitted were announced at a meeting of the Local Planning Committee.

From the list, the LPC will choose which ones go to the state for the final decision on what ones get chosen.

About 50 people attended the meeting, many of whom had submitted a project.

The list includes some major projects, including a Community Center with an

indoor pool, new housing and development of the creek area for recreational use.

Other projects ask for funds to expand and renovate downtown businesses.

The two-hour meeting last Thursday marked the third of five public sessions the LPC will have to select the projects to send to the state in the fall.

The fourth meeting is Sept. 11 where the LPC will discuss the projects in more detail.

The public can weigh in starting Sept. 16 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Waterville Village Hall.

State officials and the consultant group will take feedback on projects, for and against, that will be used to determine the ones chosen.

Criteria that will be used to evaluate projects for being chosen include housing

growth, environmental concerns and adding to the job and tax base.

The LPC has set a private workshop just for the committee Sept. 25 to review financial information and other sensitive data for the submitted projects.

Of the $4.5 million Waterville received from the grant, private development projects will receive 75 percent funding, while public and non-profit ones will not have to contribute funding.

Private projects in total requested $12.8 million from the grant, while public ones asked for $4.5 million.

The list that goes to the state will ask for $8 million or a little more in funding; this allows the state to find alternative grants for projects that do not get NY Forward money.

Private projects submitted include:

Redoing the exterior of 108 W. Main St. (Morgan’s Hardware)

Renovating the second ...