BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — Town officials are working on finalizing plans for some major upgrades at Postwood Park.

The Town of Potsdam received a $675,000 grant through the state’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative earlier this year for the project.

Other communities in the region, including Ogdensburg, Morristown, Colton, Canton, Cranberry Lake, Gouverneur and Waddington also received funding through the initiative (see below).

Town officials have been discussing upgrades to Postwood for some time.

“We already had a plan drawn up for Postwood. Like I said, the $675,000 isn’t going to cover everything we wanted for Postwood but we will have to take our wishlist and whittle it down,” Town Supervisor Marty Miller said at a town board meeting in January.

The state grant will help fund upgrades to make the park more accessible for patrons of all ages, including an overlook, new recreation courts, an amphitheater and seating wall, and the renovation of current pathways, a press release from the state said.

Deputy Town Supervisor Cindy Goliber told North Country This Week that town officials will be meeting with state representatives on March 13th to discuss more project details, and would have more information about the project after that time.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, the local funding grants are part of $463 million awarded statewide through the initiative.  

“Nearly 400 projects across the state have been awarded over $300 million in funding through the various state agency programs within the annual Regional Council initiative and Consolidated Funding Application, which are redesigned to help catalyze economic growth, jump-start housing growth, and advance regionally designed strategic plans, while addressing state priorities,” the governor’s office said.

Other regional grants

Several other communities in St. Lawrence County were also awarded grants.

The village of Canton received $50,0000 to complete an engineering feasibility study to assess and plan upgrades to its stormwater infrastructure. The village’s stormwater system is aging, fragmented, and undersized for today’s more frequent, intense storms, the state said. The study will use hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to analyze sub-catchments, identify capacity issues, and estimate pollutant loads, according to the governor’s office.

The Cranberry Lake Mountaineers Snowmobile Club will get a grant for $298,400 to acquire new trail grooming equipment to maintain 150 miles of snowmobile trails in the North Country Region.

The town of Colton received $50,000 to line all sewer system manholes located along Gulf Road in the Raquette River floodplain. This will prevent stormwater intrusion into the sewer system and the amount of water flowing to the wastewater treatment plant, thereby reducing or preventing sewer overflows, the risk of water quality violations, and damage to the Raquette River ecosystem, the state said.

Empire State Mines in Gouverneur will get a grant of $380,000 to establish a fully integrated natural flake graphite production facility. The company will procure and install a micronization unit to enable bench-scale production of micronized graphite. By establishing the first domestic natural flake graphite processing operation in the U.S. since 1956, Empire State Mines will create quality jobs and attract manufacturing investment to St. Lawrence County, said the state.

The Town of Morristown will use a state grant of $68,250 to amend its former Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) for the St. Lawrence River waterfront, the state said. The LWRP Amendment will address new and ongoing challenges facing the waterfront area focusing on development, revitalization and resiliency.

The City of Ogdensburg is getting a $212,500 grant to amend its 1987 Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP), said the state. This LWRP Amendment will address emerging issues and needs in the City's waterfront area along the St. Lawrence and Oswegatchie Rivers. It will incorporate new zoning and sustainability regulations, and identify projects to create a vibrant waterfront, improve connectivity, and promote economic investment and revitalization of Ogdensburg's waterfront.

Finally, the Town of Waddington will get a $175,000 grant to complete planning and design for a new public campground at Leishman Point on the St. Lawrence River. The project will include site layout, engineering, utility design, and permitting for future construction of a modern, accessible seasonal campground, the state said.