THOMPSON -- The Town of Thompson was recently awarded a Smart City Grant of up to $120,000 from the New York Power Authority (NYPA).

The Smart Street Lighting NY program was created to help communities convert their street lights to LED technology. The program has a goal to convert 500,000 street lights state-wide by 2025.

The grant can only be used towards the implementation of Smart City technology including hardware, software and labor. The money cannot be used for any other aspects of the turn-key street light project. At final completion, all excess funding will be returned to NYPA. In the event the project costs exceed the budget, then the town will be responsible for those additional costs. Also, funding must be used within 18 months of the approval date.

At last Tuesday's meeting, the board held a vote to approve moving forward with the LED project. It passed 4-1 with Councilman John Pavese being the only dissenting vote.

“I think long term it's going to save money, definitely save energy, and it gives a better product to the taxpayers,” said Thompson Supervisor Bill Rieber Jr. “The focus is on providing better and safer service at a reasonable cost.”

GOLDEN FEATHER AWARD

The town, which recently was the recipient of Sullivan Renaissance's $250,000 Golden Feather Award, submitted their project summary to The State Aid Management System (SAMS) for approval. They'd like to use the grant monies for the construction of a new pavilion and bathroom facilities at their new park [Lake Ida Park] which is coming soon to Rock Hill. They will also use some of the money to purchase a new Brush Bandit Woodchipper to clear and maintain their existing trails.