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By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

COEYMANS — The town council voted by a 3-2 margin in favor of a resolution aimed at moving forward with a $17 million grant from the state to build a power substation at the Port of Coeymans.

The resolution, penned by Town Councilman Stephen Schmitt, was adopted by Schmitt and Town Councilmembers Linda Bruno and Ronald Hotaling, with Town Supervisor Stephen Donnelly and Town Councilman Michael Stott voting against the measure.

The resolution was put on the table by Schmitt following a lengthy informational session by representatives from Empire State Development and the Center for Economic Growth regarding a $17 million FAST NY grant (Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts) awarded to the town in 2023 to build a $100 million power substation at the port to encourage industry to move to the port.

The grant was applied for by the town’s previous administration, under former Town Supervisor George McHugh, and though it was awarded 15 months ago, the town’s current council has not yet agreed to accept the grant.

Schmitt’s resolution sought to remedy that to move the process forward by giving either the town supervisor or the deputy town supervisor the authority to move forward with accepting the grant.

“I think that this is a great opportunity for the town of Coeymans,” Schmitt said. “We have had ample opportunity to think about it, to talk about it. We certainly got a lot of information. I appreciate everybody that came down tonight to provide us with information. I am going to introduce this resolution.”

Donnelly and Stott argued that more discussion was needed before accepting the grant or moving the process forward.

“Do you think after this one meeting, after 15 months, that you have enough information to make an accurate decision?” Stott asked Schmitt.

Schmitt responded that there have been “a number of discussions” about the grant and that it was time to move forward.

Schmitt said the most common question he is asked by town residents is who would pay the difference between the grant and the total cost of the project.

David Whipple, senior director at Empire State Development, said there are additional costs to complete the project, but that there are funding opportunities that can be applied for by the Port and the power company.

“There are other opportunities that are out there to solve the funding gap,” Whipple said.

Schmitt added that the resolution specifies that there would be no out-of-pocket costs for town taxpayers to cover the remaining costs of the project.

WHY A SUBSTATION?

The FAST NY grant program is designed to help communities build the infrastructure needed to make them more competitive in terms of economic development, specifically drawing high-tech manufacturers.

“The program is designed to improve New York’s competitiveness with attracting and growing manufacturing in New York state and doing that specifically by improving infrastructure to existing shovel-ready sites,” said Whipple. “These are sites that have done engineering, they have done some pre-permitting, some planning. They have really invested quite a bit in getting ready for this sort of operation.”

Being shovel-ready, with infrastructure already in place for things like power, water and sewer, is a big draw when manufacturers are looking for a place to site a new facility, Whipple said.

“Shovel ready sites are the number one way to motivate companies to do this in New York versus doing this somewhere else,” Whipple said. “We want to attract these jobs to New York state.”

STATUS OF THE GRANT

Coeymans received the $17 million grant in November 2023.

“The plan is that this would be at the Port of Coeymans within the existing footprint,” Whipple said. “We issued an award letter, we’ve assigned a project manager, so the project manager helps the grantee through the steps. The project has commenced – Central Hudson and the New York ISO have begun exploring further in detail the costs, the specifics about how that power extension and upgrade would work.”

But since the grant was awarded in 2023, the town has not taken action to accept it.

Concerns voiced by Donnelly and Stott included what specific industries could move to the town as a result, and whether the substation could lead to expanding the town’s industrial footprint — something that is prohibited under the town’s comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 2021.

“I support economic development as long as it is environmentally conscious, safe, and doesn’t impose negatively on the lives and well-being of our residents,” Stott said.

“Economic development, and more specifically industrial development, is only as good as the regulation, the checks and balances, and the oversight that go along with it,” Stott added. “We as a town cannot be complacent and continue to simply be reactive. We need to be proactive. We need to plan ahead to protect our residents and their quality of life.”

Albany County Legislator Zachary Collins, R-Coeymans, stepped up to the podium and gave an impassioned plea for the town to move forward with the grant. Collins said the town has had numerous discussions with the county about the grant and added that it is up to the town to protect the character of the community when a manufacturer looks to bring their business to the town, but that shouldn’t preclude the town from accepting the grant.

“Accepting this resolution would be accepting the funds for the grant. After that, you work with the county, after that you set up your town code,” Collins said. “You can’t set up town code if you don’t know what is coming in… That’s how we go forward.”

Schmitt added that the purpose of the town’s Planning and Zoning Board of Appeals is to have oversight over what businesses can come in and what their parameters would be.

Donnelly called Schmitt’s resolution “incredibly reckless,” adding that it hadn’t been reviewed by the town attorney before being voted on. He wanted the town attorney to draw up the resolution.

Stott agreed.

“I support the grant, but I don’t want to accept it hastily,” Stott said. “I don’t want to do it without everything known and all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed.”

Donnelly asked about what types of businesses would be targeted for the Port.

Katie Newcomb from the Center for Economic Growth said that is unknown, and that the purpose of the project is to get the infrastructure in place to make growth possible.

“If you don’t have the infrastructure, you aren’t able to have the choices to be able to compete for potential projects,” Newcomb said. “This isn’t tied to a particular project; it’s really the last bit to ready that site for future opportunity.”