The OD reported that the ongoing GroWest investigation has temporarily stalled talks of merging some functions of city government and Mohawk Valley EDGE, but city officials say they haven’t forgotten about working with the economic development agency.
City Mayor David Roefaro said a formal agreement between the two sides will have to wait until officials finish working with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
HUD is scrutinizing the city’s involvement with GroWest Inc., a nonprofit housing rehabilitation organization under investigation by the city and the FBI for possible financial improprieties.
“I just have to get through the procedure with HUD right now before I progress ahead,” Roefaro said recently. “We’re still working with EDGE very closely. They’re helping us on a couple of projects right now.”
Utica officials, including former Mayor Tim Julian, have long grumbled that EDGE's resources are spent developing the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome rather than growing the economy in Utica, which is Oneida County's biggest city and home to a struggling downtown and a significant low-income population.
City Community Revitalization Director Robert Sullivan has said that funding for the city’s current Urban and Economic Development Department, which comes exclusively from Community Development Block Grant Dollars, leaves the city without adequate resources for marketing and project development.
EDGE President Steven DiMeo said his agency could help manage those proposed projects and offer some of its expertise to the city.
It’s still unclear whether a formal agreement would include the city paying EDGE for that service, or if EDGE employees would be stationed in the city’s economic development office. Read more here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment