Glens Falls has won a spot in the federal Thriving Communities Program through the U.S. Department of Transportation, the city announced late last week.
The city is one of 64 localities to win in the nation. Suffolk County is the only other New York State locality to win.
The city's Director of Economic Development Jeff Flagg explained that the program and related grant will not be used to implement plans.
“It’s a capacity building grant for small or understaffed municipalities,” he said, meaning that the grant provides the city with staff and resources.
The grant is so new that the details are not entirely clear, he said, but his understanding is that the city will have access to a consortium of experts and consulting firms over the course of two years. The experts are paid for through a $5 million federal grant, and they aid the city with its plans and help the city find and apply for grants to fund projects.
Flagg said that he understood that the grant money first goes to the lead participating consulting firm. That firm then doles the funds out to other consultancies who will be helping Glens Falls and other municipalities.
USDOT’s technical assistance is part of the Thriving Communities Network, an interagency initiative among the Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture, as well as the General Services Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, according to press materials. Within the thriving communities program, Glens Falls won in the “Complete Neighborhoods” category.
“With the new Thriving Communities program, we are helping under-resourced communities better access federal funding for transportation projects that will create jobs, improve safety, and strengthen their economies," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote in a media release.
In particular, the experts will aid the city with the possible development of a multi-modal transportation hub, with the merger between the Greater Glens Falls Transit Authority’s and the Capital District Transit Authority, with the electrification of the city’s bus fleet, and with the implementation of ADA accessibility improvements for pedestrian facilities.
The city had lost a different grant last year when they were first looking to develop the multi-modal hub.
The funding received via the Thriving Communities Program will help the city to coordinate efforts together with partners such as the Lake Champlain & Lake George Regional Planning Board, the Adirondack/Glens Falls Transportation Council, and the Warren County Economic Development Corporation to advance the projects, press materials say.