Village considers participating in comprehensive plan

Village considers participating in comprehensive plan

    WATKINS GLEN—The Watkins Glen Village Board heard from Rocky Kambo, Director of Planning and Community Development, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schuyler, at their regular meeting held on Monday, July 9. Kambo came to the board to request the village’s involvement in preparing a county-wide comprehensive plan for Schuyler County. The village is currently in the midst of developing their own comprehensive plan with the assistance of consultants from the Laberge Group, a consulting firm based in Albany.
    Kambo explained that the cost to develop a county wide comprehensive plan would be around $50,000. He went on to say that he does not intend for the village to assume the entire cost of developing the new plan but instead hopes to split it amongst the 13 municipalities in Schuyler County. He is currently in the process of approaching the municipalities to gauge their interest. If all 13 municipalities participate, the cost to the village would be around $3,800. In the event that other municipalities decline participation, the scope of the project could change which would result in adjustments to the pricing, said Kambo.
    Mayor Mark Swinnerton said that he believes developing a county-wide comprehensive plan is a “good idea,” and that personally he supports it. He asked that the trustees work on determining a cost ceiling for the village’s participation in the project by the next board meeting. Trustee Scott Gibson pointed out that the village is currently engaged with a consultant to develop its own comprehensive plan which it will need to apply for various grants and programs. Swinnerton said that the board would inform Kambo of the maximum cost they are willing to absorb after the regular meeting scheduled for July 23. At that point, Swinnerton anticipates Kambo will have more information as to whether the surrounding municipalities will participate and the village can better decide if it wants to be involved as well.
    In other business:
    • The board passed a resolution to support a grant application submitted by Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development for $150,000 from the New York State Office of Community Renewal’s New York Rural Area Revitalization Program. If obtained, the grant will be used to assist “property owners in developing their buildings, including upper floor residential units, in the general target area of Franklin Street from First to Fourth Streets in the Village of Watkins Glen.”
    The village board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 23 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building.