Governor David Paterson announced Thursday that the City of Hudson will receive $8.8 million “to support the planning, design, and improvement of the City’s wastewater treatment plant and pump station” and the Town of Greenport will receive $9.4 million for the “design and refurbishment” of its wastewater treatment plant.
“This is great news,” said Hudson Mayor Rick Scalera, who said he first received word from the governor’s office and then got a phone call from Assemblyman Marc Molinaro (R-Tivoli), with detailed information about the funds.
The $8.8 million for Hudson comes as a zero-interest loan from the Environmental Facilities Corporation, and half of that loan will be forgiven by a $4.4 million grant from ARRA funding. Scalera said the effort is already underway to secure funds that will further reduce the cost of the project to Hudson water rate payers. The City received a $600,000 Community Development and Block Grant for the project last year and has applied for additional CDBG funds this year.
|
|
It's all about the river. In a rainstorm, the combined sewer overflow (CSO) from the south side of Hudson spills into this slip just south of Henry Hudson Waterfront Park, allowing untreated sewage to enter the Hudson River. A similar problem exists on the north side of Hudson. In Greenport, wastewater is released into a tributary of the Hudson River. Both stimulus-funded projects will eliminate such pollution in the Hudson River. |
Department of Public Works Interim Superintendent Rob Perry said that engineering and test work on the plant is already underway and city officials and contractors will work hard over the coming months to define the extent of the work necessary. Scalera noted that the process of soliciting bids and awarding the project needs to be completed by February 2010 to ensure receipt of the federal funds.
Perry said Thursday’s announcement was a major relief. “We have working on this for six months, since they announced the funds. Things were certainly touch and go after the first round of grants were given [in March], and we found that half of the funds were gone . . . so this is a relief,” he said.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who lives in Greenport, said, “This is a great investment for New York. These federal funds will create new jobs, rebuild critical infrastructure, help us clean up the environment and deliver clean drinking water to New York families. . . . I will continue working with Governor Paterson, Senator Schumer, and the entire Congressional Delegation to make sure New York gets its fair share from the federal government.”
The Hudson mayor said that, while the wastewater treatment plant was the key project he was hoping to get funded with federal stimulus money, he is still holding out hope that the other city projects will receive funding. Those include requests for $3.2 to $3.6 million to build a new police and court facility; $3.5 to $3.8 million for a parking garage; an unknown amount to replace the Ferry Street bridge; and $375,000 to replace a water main on Green Street. “They have been down here to talk to us about those projects,” said Scalera. “They are on their radar.”
Thursday’s stimulus funding announcement was the second in three weeks to impact the county. At the end of May, the governor announced that $6.2 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds were being awarded for the rehabilitation of the bridge on Route 9G that spans the Roeliff Jansen Kill in Germantown.
|
