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NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) has awarded $14,400 in Technical Assistance Grants for seven projects that will further goals and address needs identified in the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.

The latest grant round brings the cumulative amount to $687,492 that the UDC has provided to its member municipalities since 1988. In all, 201 projects have been funded through the Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) program.

Member municipalities submitted applications by a Sept. 2 deadline. Combined requests totaled $26,800. A special meeting of the Project Review Committee to deliberate over the applications took place on Sept. 13. The full Council approved the recommended slate at its October 6 monthly meeting.

Technical Assistance Grants are available for research, planning, and studies conducted by the UDC’s eight member New York towns (Hancock, Fremont, Delaware, Cochecton, Tusten, Lumberland, Highland, and Deerpark), five Pennsylvania townships (Damascus,
Berlin, Lackawaxen, Shohola, and Westfall), and the encompassing river corridor counties.

Buckingham and Manchester Townships would also be eligible to receive this member benefit if they joined the UDC.

TAG awards can provide seed money for a municipality to embark on a project without having to dip into local tax dollars.

The approved recipients are:

• Town of Deerpark, NY – $4,500 to update and codify the Town Zoning Law.
• Shohola Township, PA – $2,700 to upgrade the township’s website, including the addition of an emergency management component, and to prepare a handbook to facilitate the website’s usage.
• Sullivan County, NY – $2,100 to develop a Sullivan County pub
  lic hiking trails mapping project website. ƒ
• Town of Highland, NY – $1,500 to develop a system for early warnings and enhanced communications for use during emergencies.
• Town of Highland, NY – $1,400 to review and update the Town Zoning Law.
• Town of Lumberland, NY – $1,200 to produce a brochure documenting the six cemeteries in the Town of Lumberland.
• Pike County, PA – $1,000 to launch a multi-faceted public educ
  ation campaign related to natural gas exploration in Pike County.
• The project completion deadline is July 24, 2012.

To access a directory of the UDC’s Technical Assistance Grants from 1988-2011, review program guidelines, and download forms, please visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org.

Contact UDC Senior Resource Specialist David Soete at (845) 252-3022 or dave@upperdelawarecouncil.org with any further questions.