Essex County State of Emergency Continues
The State of Emergency issued on August 13th to enable a countywide Burn Ban has been extended until September 11th, matching the full length of the emergency order. Dry conditions continue across the region, creating dangerous conditions for wildland fires. Please follow the guidance of this State of Emergency and the Burn Ban to help keep our community and firefighters safe.

Additional Grants Secured
The Town of Jay has secured an additional $1.2 million in grant funding for critical infrastructure and energy efficiency upgrades.

  • The first award is a $600,000 Green Innovation Grant Program (GIGP) grant for water meter upgrades mandated by the DEC as part of our 2021 water withdrawal permit renewal. This grant will help offset the cost of a $2 million project spanning the Town of Jay’s three water districts. We are also seeking further funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvement & Intermunicipal Grant Program (WIIA) to support this project and much-needed upgrades at the Nugent Plant in Jay. Both grants are being administered through Essex County Community Resources.
  • The second award is a $600,000 Department of Energy grant through the NYS Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, administered by NYSERDA. This fully funded grant will cover a comprehensive energy audit of the Community Center as well as upgrades such as new energy-efficient windows and heat pumps.

Town Meetings
The past few weeks have been busy with Board, Committee, and Informational Meetings, all of which are available to view on our website under the Meeting Minutes tab. One highlight was the Assessment Informational Meeting hosted by Town of Jay Assessor Timothy Gay, Jr. on August 12th in the Community Center Gym. Tim did an excellent job explaining how assessments work and how they affect tax rates. If you’d like to watch the full hour-long presentation, you can view it here: https://youtu.be/rTujA6XDXYo. Handouts from the meeting are also available at the Community Center, located next to the gym doors.

Hope you have a great weekend,
Matt.