Ribbon Cutting Celebrates New Affordable Apartments on Main Street
Yesterday, we celebrated a great step forward for local housing with a ribbon cutting for two newly renovated Vacant Rental Program (VRP) apartments at 14227 Main Street in Au Sable Forks. A sincere thank you goes out to property owner Jamie Atkins and property manager Terry Savage for working closely with the North Country Rural Development Coalition (NRDC) to complete these affordable units and invest in our community.
Bringing vacant spaces back into active residential use strengthens both our local housing options and the vitality of our downtown corridor. With these two units now complete, a total of five apartments have been brought back online in Au Sable Forks over the past year, reflecting steady progress in revitalizing our Main Street neighborhood.
State Leadership Meeting on DRI and NY Forward Programs
On Thursday morning, I met with Adirondack Park Agency Executive Director Barbara Rice, Empire State Development Director Steve Hunt, and representatives from the New York State Department of State (DOS) to discuss the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY Forward programs. These productive conversations help align our local revitalization goals with key state agencies as we work to secure transformative funding for our community.
As we continue preparing our DRI application, strong, community-driven projects remain essential to a competitive submission. If you have a project idea that you would like considered for our DRI application, reach out to me directly so we can bring our grant contractor, G&G Municipal Consulting, into the conversation and discuss next steps.
Town Board Meeting Recap
The Town Board held its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, November 12th, at the Jay Community Center. During the session, the board passed Local Law Number 3 of 2026 to override the state tax cap limit for this year only and officially adopted the 2027 Town Budget.
The board took action to move several key infrastructure and community projects forward. These initiatives included advancing town water upgrades with IIJA grant funding, going out to bid on the Complete Streets project using Occupancy Tax matching funds, authorizing a landowner agreement with U.S. Fish and Wildlife and Ausable Freshwater Center for the AuSable Drive culvert, and seeking bids for a Salt Reduction Plan consultant. For the entire meeting, check out the video on our Meeting Minutes webpage. The next Regular Town Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, December 10, 2026, at 7:00 pm at the Community Center.
Comprehensive Plan Public Hearing on Tuesday, November 17th
The town’s Comprehensive Plan Special Board will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, November 17th, beginning at 6:00 pm at the Jay Community Center, to receive public feedback on its draft Community Profile and Comprehensive Plan Update. The board welcomes public input, either in writing or in person, and a summary of public feedback will be added as an addendum when the board submits the draft plan update for agency review in December.
We encourage all community members to look over the draft plan and its proposed initiatives, and to attend the hearing in person or online at https://meet.goto.com/455178293 to share their input. The town recently published a special edition newsletter describing the plan, which can be viewed at https://www.townofjayny.gov/town-of-jay-news-special-edition-2026, and you can access the full draft Community Profile and Plan Update at https://planjay.com/.
Have a great weekend,
Matt
