On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that a total of $715.9 million has been awarded to a total of 824 projects across the state, including several in Western New York and Chautauqua County.

Among the local projects, a total of $1,000,000 will go to Chautauqua County for the Chautauqua Regional Water District, which will modernize infrastructure in the Dunkirk area to help industrial businesses improve efficiency.

Other projects set to receive funding include:

• City of Dunkirk – Two Grants for Seawall and Lake Front Boulevard Improvement Project – $790,620.00
• City of Jamestown – Continuation of its Riverwalk project – $499,995
• Lake Effect Trailbreakers – Groomer Grant – $192,000
• Chautauqua Lake Snowmobile Club – Groomer Grant – $139,600
• Jamestown Community College – Machinist Training Program – $99,900
• Village of Celoron – Improvements to Lucille Ball Memorial Park  – $82,845
• Reg Lenna Center for the Arts – Purchase of a new digital projector – $75,000
• Chautauqua County – Northern Chautauqua County Local Waterfront Revitalization Program – $65,000
• South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District – Wastewater Consolidation Study – $50,000
• Westfield School District – Centralization Referendum Assistance for Brocton and Westfield Schools – $13,500

A centerpiece of the Governor’s strategy to jump start the economy and create jobs, the regional councils were put in place in 2011 to redesign the state’s approach to economic development from a top-down model to a community-based, performance-driven approach. This was the third round of funding from the initiative.