This year, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched an initiative that he hopes will create a community driven approach to economic development that will also produce comprehensive and sustainable development in, what he calls, a holistic approach.
His goals for the initiative, known as the North Country Regional Economic Development Council (NCREDC), are to develop strategies for economic growth as it relates to the various North Country regions; as well as to ensure that state funding aligns with local priorities.
Included in the North Country region are the Hamilton county communities of Long Lake, Indian Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Raquette Lake, and Inlet.
According to co-chair Tony Collins, as part of Governor Cuomo’s transformative plan, a NYS Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) has been created that will help to streamline and expedite the grant application process.
With the new application process, agencies that wish to receive priority project funding must complete their applications by Monday, October 31.
The applications will then be vetted by the NCREDC to determine which projects should receive priority funding.
The NCREDC website claims that they have developed a “Priority Project Selection Criteria” that will identify ‘ready-to-go’ and transformative projects that will achieve the desired economic growth based on a strategic plan.
Priority projects will be ranked using a total score of forty points.
A score of 35 to 40 will designate a proposal as a Priority project, while projects receiving scores between 25 and 35 will be ranked as a level two priority project.
Projects with scores lower than 25 will not be identified as a priority project.
The Council has created their project scoring criteria based on the overall vision of the project, the levels of community and stakeholder support, how well the project helps to advance the strategic plan set up by the NCREDC, what significance the implementation of the project has on economic development, the measurability of results, as well as the project’s ability to leverage other public, private, and non-profit funding sources.
Governor Cuomo has set a deadline of November 4, 2011 for submission of a final draft plan, causing the committee to be forced to move quickly.
Those wishing to discuss the NCREDC’s strategic plan, or to voice comments and concerns may do so at a progress report meeting scheduled to take place on Wednesday, October 26 at 6 p.m. at the Lowville Academy and Central School in Lewis County.
