ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) – The Tompkins County Legislature has approved fourteen different projects for community recovery funding.
More than $500,000 became available after Second Wind Cottages withdrew their application earlier this year. The leftover finalists that applied last year were joined by fourteen new projects chosen by each legislator and voted on. That list was given to a consulting company, and they combined the data to assign values. The top projects were approved by the Community Recovery Advisory Committee on Monday, May 1, 2023.
On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, legislators voted unanimously to approve funding for the recipients on that list. One approved project, Uhuru Creek Farms, a proposed cooperative communal farm in Danby, will require additional environmental actions before the money can be distributed. Legislator Dan Klein explains.
Some legislators expressed trepidation in voting yes on the project, despite their approval of the idea. They feared they could run into the same issues they did with Second Wind Cottages, where the county approves a project that the majority of a municipality isn’t interested in. They voted yes for funding, ultimately leaving it up to the Town of Danby to approve the project.
Planners for Uhuru must now submit a final design to the Town of Danby that ensures constructed buildings are far enough away from streams and wetlands, with vegetative buffers.
The other approved projects listed below were not subject to State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR).
APPROVED PROJECTS
- Town of Ulysses – Nourishing Minds and Energizing Bodies – $15,000
- Shortstop Deli – Shortstop Deli Revitalization – $50,000
- South Hill School Age Program – SHSAP Capital Enhancements – $2,500
- Town of Enfield – Communication radios for Highway Dept. – $26,592
- Teachable Moments Daycare – Operating Costs – $10,000
- Finger Lakes ReUse – Community Resilience Through ReUse – $68,444
- Varna Community Association-Restoring, Expanding Community Services-$20,000
- Caroline After School Program – Rebuilding the Program – $42,000
- YMCA of Ithaca & Tompkins County – Universal Locker Room Renovation and Pool – $50,110
- Dryden Fiber – Dryden Fiber Expansion – $75,1999
- Discovery Trail – Kids Discover the Trail! (KDT!) program – $12,000
- BJM Families Together #1 – BJM Families Together After School Enrichment – $44,167
- Fort Baptist Farm LLC – $20,000
- Uhuru Creek Farm (Pending municipal approval) – Cooperative, communal farm – $74,086
