Village residents can expect to see road repaving done in coming weeks after the Board of Trustees approved about $66,000 in contracts for work on Russell and Riverside Drives.

Contracts were awarded this month to low county bidder Kubricky Construction Corp of Wilton for grinding, repaving and water flow improvements to those two roads. Mayor Rick Nelson said the village will be checking the schedule with the contractor but hopes to have the work completed by early September.

Back in 2015, the village did a survey of village streets and put together a spreadsheet ranking the streets in terms of their condition. From this sheet, and public comments, the village began putting together a five-year plan for street improvements based on need. Residents were surveyed on this website to “campaign for their roads” if they believed the plan was in error.

In other business, village Engineer Ed Hernandez reported that New York State recently announced the awarding of a first series of grants for municipal improvements and the village was not among them.

This is the village’s second attempt to secure state monies to help fund the replacement of the Hillside water tank and a water line running between the tank and Lake Road. The water tank has corroded and reached the end of its service life. The grant was denied in 2015, so last March, the village reapplied for funding under the New York State Infrastructure Improvement Act.

Some $56 million in funding has awarded for 2016 thus far out of a total of $175 million.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t make the first list,” Hernandez told Trustees. “I don’t know if we’ll get the money this year or not.”

Additional grants are expected to be announced after July 1. Applications are rated and awarded to municipalities who “prove they have the most need.”

The village also plans to apply for additional state grants under the Restore New York Communities Initiative to demolish an abandoned property on Hudson Avenue (“the old Miller building”) and to restore the Park Avenue Bridge. Applications are due this fall.

Restore New York is a $50 million program to provide municipalities with funding to support efforts to revitalize and stabilize urban areas and neighborhoods across the state.

In other business August 16:

• Trustees approved the purchase of a new 2017 Chevrolet Silverado work truck for the Department of Public Works at a low bid of $38,055. They piggybacked off a low bid from Chautauqua County from Basil Chevrolet in Depew, NY.
• Trustee Judith Wood-Shaw announced that the village’s Senior Time program would return after a summer break on Friday, September 30, 11 a.m to 2 p.m., at The Stillwater Area Community Center. Senior Time volunteers will be honored at the fall program. She also announced that volunteers will hold a bake sale to raise money for the local food pantry at the American Legion Post 490 craft fair on September 17.