Land Bank Assisting With Welch Trail Project By: Dennis Phillips, Post-Journal |
| Posted on Sunday, July 19, 2015 at 2:38 PM |
 From the Jamestown Post Journal During a meeting of the county Land Bank last week, the board passed a resolution to use grant money from the state Office of the Attorney General to demolish the former Portage Inn in Westfield. The mixed-use structure has deteriorated in recent years and is no longer viable for redevelopment. Mark Geise, Land Bank executive director, told the board there is a plan to apply for grant funding through the state Regional Economic Development Council's Consolidated Funding Application for the Welch Trail project. The deadline to apply for CFA funding is July 31. Developed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011, the CFA process streamlines the grant application for multiple funding sources through one online application. Eligible projects include agricultural economic development; community economic development; waterfront revitalization; environmental improvements; and education and workforce development, among others. More than 20 funding sources are available this year through 11 agencies. By demolishing the former Portage Inn, the property could be used as access to the proposed Welch Trail, access to Chautauqua Creek, parking for Main Street in Westfied and enhance village tourism development. In other business, the Land Bank board passed a resolution establishing demolition allocation rules for the grants they've received from the state Office of the Attorney General. Eric Schneiderman, state attorney general, awarded the county Land Bank a $1.5 million grant in 2013. Then, in 2014, Schneiderman awarded the Land Bank a second grant for $1.3 million. The money is used for assisting state land banks in rebuilding and restoring neighborhoods hit hard by the housing crisis. The resolution states that 50 percent of the money for demolitions should be used within the city of Jamestown, 25 percent would be for demolitions in the city of Dunkirk and the remaining 25 percent would be for properties within the towns and villages in Chautauqua County. |
