Village of Homer Mayor Hal McCabe. (Photo via Kevin L. Smith of The Cortland Voice).
Now, as village mayor Hal McCabe noted at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting, the “real work begins” for Homer.
About $300,000 of the DRI grant will be used for the state in choosing a consultant for the village, McCabe said, kicking off the process of DRI spending.
“That consultant is going to be responsible for basically what projects go forward,” he added.
The consultant chosen will visit the village to check out the area. Following this, McCabe said, a community forum restricted for village residents will be held in the near future.
“We’ll talk about all of the potential projects and put things up on the wall,” McCabe said. “People will vote for what they like, and the consultants will do a financial analysis to see what’s most viable and then they’ll let us know what projects we’re working on. It’s a process and it’s going to take a while.”
Village board member Ed Finkbeiner, who was praised for his persistence on the village submitting an application for the DRI grant, noted residents can pitch project ideas to the village during the forum and beyond.
“People can actually come up with other projects,” Finkbeiner said. “The ones we propose are not necessarily the ones that you can only choose and pick from.”
McCabe mentioned the village’s DRI committee will also convene soon to further discuss proposed projects. The DRI grant money, he added, is part of the $20-30 investment into the village.
“$10 million for a village this size is going to go a long way,” McCabe said.
Homer’s DRI application to the state, which breaks down proposed projects for the village, can be seen here.
