The Town of Cobleskill has given Planning Department head Alicia Terry the go-ahead to reapply for the Economic Development Administration grant they hope will help fund its Route 7 water and sewer line expansion.
Deadline for the next round of EDA funding is June 10.
The last application for the federal grant was rejected as “competitive” but not the needed “highly competitive” Ms. Terry told Supervisor Tom Murray and councilmen Monday; she believes her office can turn that around in time for the next funding deadline.
Total cost for the project, which would run water and sewer lines from Wal-Mart to Howe Caverns, is $7.8 million.
Schoharie County has committed $2 million toward the project, Howe Caverns another $2 million, and properties in the newly-created water and sewer districts would kick in $226,000, Ms. Terry said.
She’s also seeking funding from the Office of Community Renewal, New York State, and others.
“Daylight’s burning, so to speak,” Ms. Terry said of her request to the town—which was approved unanimously.
Ms. Terry said she’s still hoping supervisors will agree to spend $350,000 for engineering, design, and other costs for the proposed project when they meet Friday.
That work will take a good seven months to complete, she said, and she hates to lose out on another construction season.
Supervisors were lukewarm to the idea when they met a couple of weeks ago but the lines are seen as crucial to Howe Caverns’ expansion plans and to future expansion along the Route 7 corridor.