East Hampton Will Seek Grant for Springs Improvements

The hamlet of Springs may be a beneficiary of a New York State grant program aimed at funding projects such as public improvements, renovations and enhancements for businesses, elevating historical or cultural aspects, and increasing community programming.

Samantha Klein, East Hampton Town’s intergovernmental relations coordinator, told the Town Board on Tuesday that the New York Forward program plans to award $4.5 million to applications that include a variety of projects that contribute to revitalizing or reinvigorating an area. These can include public improvement projects like walkability, green infrastructure, streetscaping, direct assistance to businesses for renovations or elevating historical or cultural aspects of the area. Two such awards are anticipated on Long Island. One criterion is being Pro Housing certified, a designation the town received in August.

The Springs hamlet study and its citizens advisory committee “pointed us in a direction of general public feelings and some challenges and opportunities in the area,” Klein told the board. Projects funded under the program must be in or very near a designated focus area. “We tried to call out the heart of Springs, so it includes some of the historic district,” Klein said, pointing to Ashawagh Hall, the Springs Library and Springs School, and the Springs Presbyterian Church, among other buildings, as well as small businesses around Fort Pond Boulevard.

“For this project, we really hope to promote safety on roadways, preserve historical and cultural buildings in the hamlet for that sense of place, and support local businesses,” Klein said. “The cost of living is high, and so is rent and the cost of doing business, so hopefully providing some support would have this trickling down effect to members and visitors of the community and consumers in the area.”

Projects under consideration include replacement of windows at the Springs Library, replacement of Ashawagh Hall’s roof, renovations, façade improvements or equipment purchases for small businesses, safety and walkability improvements related to parking, pedestrians and cyclists, and streetscape improvements for connectivity from the school through the historic district and to Fort Pond Boulevard.

A nine-question survey is open until Wednesday, October 9, at ehamptonny.gov/1946/NY-Forward-Springs-Application, and the board encouraged residents to participate. “Springs is a very special place to people,” Klein said, “and we want to receive direction and input from this very early-on stage.”

Should the town’s application be awarded, a fresh planning process will be undertaken to raise or revisit ideas “and make sure anything implemented is supported by the community,” she said. The state would provide technical assistance via a consultant and project manager to facilitate stakeholder engagement.

Awards are to be announced, on a rolling basis, late this year and early next year. The planning process with the Department of State would happen in March with projects identified, vetted and developed. “We would probably start with a visioning process of where we are now, where we want to be, and collect a shared direction and framework to move in” along with a community needs assessment, Klein said.