Business owners showing little interest in facade grants
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - Since the fall of 2006, the Village of Bath has been ready to award thousands of dollars to business owners interested in renovating the facades of their buildings to conform with historical guidelines.

The funds - $200,000 in all - were awarded through the New York State Main Street program of the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. Steuben Churchpeople Against Poverty applied for the funds on behalf of the village and is administering the local program.

The purpose of the funds is to renovate storefronts located within the village historic district, as well as their interior apartments, according to Bath Mayor David Wallace. "The owner pays for half the cost of the project; we pay the other half out of the grant money," the mayor said in a recent interview.

Unfortunately, according to Wallace, there haven't been any takers.

The difficulty appears to involve state regulations affecting publicly funded renovations in the historic district.

According to SCAP representative Ginny Bates, the regulations require renovations to follow a particular architectural design and building materials must be approved by the New York State Historic Preservation Office.

"It's not an insurmountable thing, but you do have to follow their regulations when using state money," Bates said.

Pete Nielsen, owner of Bath Plumbing and Hardware, is one property owner who balked at the regulations when he began renovating the facade of his Liberty Street store.

"I really appreciate what Ginny is trying to do," Nielsen said, "but I found the requirements didn't fit with what I wanted to do." He undertook the renovation project on his own.

Village officials are hoping at least one business owner takes advantage of the funding program in 2007. The village board in particular hopes to use the funds to help pay for repairs to the Pulteney Park gazebo and water fountain; the money, however, is off limits for that purpose until someone uses them in renovating a facade.

"I think a lot of things have changed since the original award was there," said Bates. She added, "I do have a couple of people who are interested."