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Inside this issue:
DCAP Spotlight:
Economic Vitality
1
Department of
Economic Development
DCAP Goals
1
Adjacent Centers of
Employment
2
Team has Eagle Eye on
Floodplain Project
3
Craft Beverages:
A New Market Thrives
In Delaware County
4
DCAP QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER Encourage and empower communities to be stewards of the watershed. Maintain the high quality
water supply while supporting environmental integrity, rural character, and economic stability.
D C A P P A R T N E R S
Delaware County
Departments of:
Watershed Affairs
Planning
Economic Development
Public Works
Code Enforcement
Emergency Services
Delaware County Soil &
Water Conservation District
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Q3 2016
DCAP SPOTLIGHT: ECONOMIC VITALITY
The Department of Economic Development DCAP goals:
The guiding principle of the
MOA is that watershed protection and economic development are compatible. A healthy watershed requires good economic health. Responsible economic development and projects create new job opportunities for local residents without detriment to water quality. Delaware County considers this a fundamental principle in its role as a steward of all watersheds in the County. Through the Department of Economic Development, the county seeks to: • Encourage traditional economic and industrial development in the Susquehanna and Delaware River Tailwaters; • Foster environmentally
friendly initiatives in NYC watershed communities and businesses. Since the release of the 2006 DCAP Progress Report, the Department of Economic Development has • Increased the capacity of the Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and Local Development Corporation (LDC) to affect business development by increasing high risk, small business loan capacity from less than $2M in 2006 to roughly $5.5M; • Established site development capacity with $1.2M in new funds (plus $1M already invested in projects); • The IDA and LDC provided nearly $8.9M in loans to
107 businesses to support the creation of 520 new jobs and the retention of 814 jobs; • Secured over $1.6M in Main Street program grants and financing; and • Provided specific flood recovery funds for businesses impacted by flood events in 2006 and 2011, restoring Main Streets and making businesses more resilient for any future event. • Nearly $37.3M in funding was awarded to assist almost 150 small businesses, fostering a total additional investment nearing $63 million. These businesses have pledged to retain or create approximately 1,700 full-time jobs.
Goal 1: Site development and building redevelopment for commercial parks in Sidney, Hancock and Deposit, as well as building redevelopment within the Watershed. This will establish available space for business relocation or creation in Delaware County. With this infrastructure, the County will be better positioned for State referrals for businesses.
Goal 2: Actively promote Delaware County to expanding or relocating businesses, particularly small businesses or those filling a specific community need.
Goal 3: Prioritize small agriculture for micro and direct lending and working
with agricultural entrepreneurs on larger value-added projects. (An awarded agricultural microenterprise matching grant program will provide $370,000 in matching funds to assist 22
small businesses, fostering a total
investment of approximately
$920,000 in agricultural
development. These businesses will retain and/or create
approximately 56 jobs.)
Goal 4: Maintain focus on existing
small businesses seeking direct lending for start-ups and expansions, outside grants/incentives/financing for job-creating expansions, and meeting infrastructure needs as they arise.
Espoused in the economic
development study
commissioned as part of the
signing of the Memorandum
of Agreement, is the term
“adjacent centers of
employment.” This means
the watershed communities
should promote economic
development and job creation
opportunities in towns
located within Watershed
counties, but outside the
“green line” delineating the
boundaries of the NYC
Watershed.
The Successes… The Delaware County
Department of Economic
Development and the
Industrial Development
Agency (IDA) has focused a
significant amount of effort
into some of Delaware
County’s adjacent centers of
employment – specifically,
Hancock, Deposit, Sidney and
Davenport. Through a partnership
agreement with the
Millennium Pipeline Company
established in 2008 for the
purpose of stimulating
economic development in the
region, the IDA has made
significant positive impacts on
the communities of Hancock
and Deposit. Through this
partnership, Millennium
committed to certain
investments in compensation
for their impact upon the
localities, and the IDA has
been able to assist 11
businesses and community
development projects in the
Towns. Matched with nearly
$3.9 million of private and
public investment, these
projects have resulted in the
establishment of four new
businesses, and the creation
or retention of 73 jobs, as
well as additional community
benefits. Over the same time
period the IDA has
committed a further $9.4
million in financing assistance,
stimulating nearly $13.7
million of additional business
investment in Deposit and
Hancock. In Sidney, the Delaware
County IDA has invested over
$7.6M in grants, loans, and
building and site development
activities over the last five
years. This effort has resulted
in the investment of over
$51M from private businesses,
the creation of 200 new jobs
and the retention of nearly
1,600 jobs. The IDA’s
activities in Sidney have
ranged from site development
to the acquisition and
renovation of vacant buildings
to traditional lending. The IDA has recently
completed a $1.4M
infrastructure project in the
Town of Davenport to
support a business expansion
that has already resulted in
the creation of 35 new
jobs. Additional projects in
development will result in
over $11M of new business
investment and the creation
of over 50 new jobs.
The Failures… The Department of Economic
Development is frustrated
with the NYC DEP. They find
there is little balance between
the dual objectives of water
quality and economic vitality,
and they fear watershed
communities are experiencing
death by a thousand cuts. For
example, the “adjacent
centers of employment” are
convenient for those who live
nearby, but commuting 30—
60 minutes each way for work
is far from convenient for a
resident living near the center
of the watershed. Additionally, the original
economic development study
did not anticipate that many
of the developable parcels
inside the “green line” would
be controlled by New York
City through the Land
Acquisition Program and
Agricultural Easements. For several years the Town
of Delhi and the IDA has been
looking for a developer to
reopen the nursing
home. There are very few
available parcels left on which
critical community facilities
such as this can be located,
and the list is even shorter
when it comes to parcels that
are connected to water and
sewer. The closing of this
facility had left an essential
community service - the care
of our elderly -
unfulfilled. Additionally, the
facility was quickly
deteriorating. Community
needs such as this, which are
not traditional commercial or
industrial development, but
are essential community
services, have been stifled, as
they have been viewed by
NYC as development. The
stormwater management
regulations, which are
arbitrarily applied and
interpreted, lead to a long and
arduous NYC approval
process, which in this case
and in many other cases,
nearly made the project
impossible and threatened the
community’s ability to
reestablish this facility. With
no recourse to dispute these
interpretations, the possibility
of providing the community
with essential services seems
overwhelming and impossible. Within the watershed, the
tourism industry was meant
to be one of the directions in
which growth was
promoted. That said, the
small businesses which have
popped up to support tourism
have faced an uphill battle to
find a cost effective way to do
business and support
themselves when faced with
the stormwater and septic
regulations imposed in the
watershed. The challenges,
costs and time involved are
much greater within the
watershed than outside. Due to the necessity of
being able to offer businesses
a location and opportunity for
expansion, particularly in
cases where they are
constrained from expansion
within an existing Watershed
location, and in order to keep
the jobs within the County,
the IDA is planning further
site development investments
within Sidney. In a federal court decision,
the watershed communities
were denied any standing in
the Filtration Avoidance
Determination (FAD). The
FAD is the document that
allows NYC to use an
unfiltered source of drinking
water. This denial came in
spite of the fact that without
the cooperation of the local
people and the Memorandum
of Agreement, this FAD
would not be possible.
Article contributed by:
Glenn Nealis, Director
Delaware County
DUAL OBJECTIVES IN DELAWARE COUNTY: SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF
FOCUSING ON “ADJACENT CENTERS OF EMPLOYMENT”
Amphenol Aerospace, Sidney, NY
County Soil and Watershed
Conservation District, New
York State Department of
Environmental Conservation,
New York City Department of
Environmental Protection,
Village of Walton and the Town
of Walton.
A floodplain is the land
bordering a river. Over the
years the 13-acre Walton
Floodplain that borders the
West Branch Delaware River
has been filled with gravel that
has raised and hardened the
floodplain and degraded the
natural vegetation.
Graydon Dutcher, stream
program coordinator with the
Delaware County Soil and
Water Conservation District
who was the team’s guide on
the floodplain tour said, “The
floodplain has been filled
through the years one dump
truck at a time as a place of
easy disposal of materials.”
As a result, when the river
floods the water that would
naturally be absorbed, filtered,
and transported by the
floodplain is unable to. So
floodwater backs up because of
the over filled floodplain and
stays trapped on the streets of
the Village of Walton, flooding
businesses and homes,
especially Delaware Street and
the ironically named Water
Street.
When this high volume of
stormwater runoff floods the
streets, it sweeps up
contaminates and carries them
to the West Branch Delaware
River that feeds into the
Cannonsville Reservoir. The
reservoir supplies 97 billion
gallons of water to New York
City’s drinking water supply.
This project will return the
floodplain to its natural state
and as a result it will reduce
flooding and improve water
quality.
Dutcher said, “We are going
to remove the gravel creating a
more natural floodplain
elevation.” This work will
include removing and relocating
a New York State Electric &
Gas line to a deeper elevation
and recycling the gravel and
moving it outside of the
floodplain.
During the walking tour,
Dutcher pointed to a
McDonald’s golden arches sign
several yards away. He said,
“We are at the same height as
the golden arches. This is how
high the floodplain has grown
over the years!”
Dutcher took the group
through a long muddy path
surrounded by high shrubbery
leading to the West Branch
Delaware River. The team
stood along the river’s edge and
continued to take photos of the
resting Eagle perched above the
moving river.
The project includes
restoring the floodplain’s
vegetation. The invasive plant
species that the group has been
walking through is going to be
removed and grass is going to
be planted.
He said where the team is
standing along the river, a
riparian buffer or hardwood
forest is going to be created
that will include a mix of native
Maples, Ash and a mix of
shrubs.
“Flood waters will drain from
the town’s streets, building
rooftops and parking lots and
filter through the restored
vegetation and the riparian
buffer before entering the
river,” said Dutcher.
The riparian buffer traps
sediment and pollutants like
harmful phosphorus and
nitrogen particles from entering
the river. This improves the
quality of the water, maintain
the river’s temperature and
fosters the creation of fish and
aquatic habitats. The project
will treat 2.8 acres of
stormwater runoff.
Dutcher said, “This project is
a big thing in Walton. It benefits
the community in several
ways.”
The project will lessen the
damages of flooding. When
completed, the project will
provide flood reductions for a
100-year storm event. This is a
flood whose strength and water
height is predicted to occur, on
average, about once in 100
years. In addition, it will also be
useful for lesser, 10-year storm
events that occur on average
once every decade. This
project will also connect and
drain the newly built green
space in the center of Walton’s
Main Street.
Dutcher added that this
project, which is expected to
be completed by 2018, will also
potentially give the land back to
the community for other uses
like athletic fields and park land.
That Eagle never left the branch
the entire time the team was
walking the floodplain and it
seemed to be keeping a steady
eye on them. Some in the
group saw it as nature’s way of
reminding them to keep
focused on this project that has
multiple benefits for locals, city
dwellers and Eagles who just
happen to make Walton their
home.
Article contributed by:
JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D. ,
Army Corps of Engineers
TEAM HAS EAGLE EYE ON
FLOODPLAIN PROJECT
A group of people are wading
slowly through high grass under
a hot summer sun as they begin
a guided walking tour of the
Walton Floodplain in Delaware
County, New York.
Suddenly there's excitement in
the air as an Eagle perches on a
nearby branch hanging over the
West Branch Delaware
River. The group swiftly
changes its focus, and cameras,
from the tour to this majestic
bird.
It seems the group is no
longer interested in what their
guide has to say. On the
contrary, this group is an inter-
agency team that is looking over
the land because they’re starting
a reclamation project that will
improve the floodplain’s
environment for that Eagle,
reduce flooding for the local
community and protect New
York City’s drinking water.
The Walton Floodplain
Reclamation Project is part of
the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineer’s New York City
Watershed Environmental
Assistance Program.
“The program funds projects
that are protecting the water
quality of New York State’s
watersheds that provide
drinking water to millions of
New York City residents and
businesses,” said Rifat Salim,
project manager, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, New York
District.
On this project, the Army
Corps is working in
collaboration with the Delaware
Photo credit: Rifat Salim
Photo credit: JoAnne Castagna
Republished with permission.
Original article available: http://
www.nan.usace. army.mil/Media/
News-Stories/Story-Article-View/
Article/967021/team-has-eagle-eye-
on-floodplain-project/
1 Courthouse Square, Suite 3
Delhi, NY 13753
Website Address: delcowatershed.com
Phone: 607-832-5432
The Water Starts Here
The Delaware County
Department of Watershed Affairs was created in 1999 to
increase awareness of and assist with issues related to the
New York City Watershed and to preserve the environment
and economy of the communities within the
watershed.
Microbreweries are becoming
a popular new business and
growing trend in New York.,
and Delaware County is no
exception. The Delaware
County Industrial Development
Agency (IDA) has recently
assisted two businesses by
offering them low interest loans
which will in, one case, help the
business get established, and in
the other, help a business with
early success to expand. Rock Valley Spirits, a new
business established by James
and Theresa Milk received
assistance from the IDA to help
purchase equipment to start
producing top quality spirits
aimed at the high end craft
distillery market. They will
soon begin producing bourbon,
rye and single malt scotch at
their Long Eddy location. Future plans for Rock Valley
spirits include opening a tasting
room where visitors can taste
their selection of beverages.
Due to aging requirements it
may be some time before you
see their product on the
shelves, but once the whiskey
has aged and is ready for sale,
Rock Valley will be participating
in marketing events throughout
the region which will require
additional help. In the meantime
the Milk’s will be making and
selling products like vodka that
don’t require the aging process. Gravity Ciders, Inc., owned
by Casey Vitti and Patricia
Wilcox, produce several types
of hard cider. Having recently
outgrown its location in Walton
this business moved to a new
facility in the Industrial Park in
Sidney where they lease space
from the IDA. Marketed under
the name of Awestruck
Premium Hard Ciders, you can
find this product line in stores
and local restaurants and
taverns. The IDA is a valuable
resource for small businesses
across Delaware County.
Typically, the IDA provides
assistance with the
development of a viable
business plan, guides businesses
CRAFT BEVERAGES: A NEW MARKET
THRIVES IN DELAWARE COUNTY
Inside the Gravity Ciders Bottling Facility in Sidney
through any necessary
permitting processes, and
provides low-interest loans for
small and medium sized
businesses. The Delaware County
Industrial Development Agency
(IDA) provides assistance to
businesses to develop business
plans and to do finance
planning. Combined, this
brewery and cidery have
pledged to create six jobs in
Delaware County. Additionally,
they will attract tourists to our
area which will have a positive
impact on the local economy.
Article contributed by:
Tabitha Byam,
Delaware County
Department of Economic
Development
Rock Valley Spirits, Long Eddy, NY