The Otsego County Board of Representatives approved an extension of the contract with Leatherstocking Trolley Company, which manages the Cooperstown Trolley, at its meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2.
The contract was scheduled to end Dec. 31 and was extended to Dec. 31, 2025.
Daniel Wilber, R-District 10, updated the board on trolley usage, management, operation and maintenance.
“This year, the Cooperstown Trolley had over 17,300 riders for the season,” Wilber said. “This is based on numbers from Levi Anderson, the coordinator for the trolley. The number of riders was slightly down this season.”
The contract includes the operation and maintenance at $22.50 an hour for an additional 1,959 service hours and an annual administration fee of $15,500 to be paid monthly during the trolley season, which runs from the end of May to Columbus Day.
The contract also includes a maintenance rate, which is paid by Cooperstown, at $85 an hour plus parts. The county is responsible for the cost of operation and maintenance of the trolley and Cooperstown is responsible for the costs of the fuel for the trolley in a separate municipal contract, according to the resolution.
The total cost of the one-year contract extension cannot exceed $82,000, according to the resolution.
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In other business, small businesses in Otsego County are slated to receive almost $300,000 in micro-grants after the board approved funding allocations Wednesday.
Otsego County received a Micro-Enterprise Grant from the state Office of Community Renewal last year to assist small businesses and to create jobs and expand the county’s tax base.
There were 34 applicants for the grants totaling $1.02 million in requests, according to the resolution. Intergovernmental Affairs and Administration Committees reviewed the grant applications with recommendations by Otsego Now IDA.
The final 11 grant recipients include:
$35,000 to Lisa Garza and Josh Long for Red Barn Farm and Brewery$22,800 to August Johnson for Captain Cooks Seafood Market$35,000 to Noelle and Erich Adamoschek for 25 Main Collective$35,000 to Michael Parker, for Sleeping Lion Farm$35,000 to David Kenny for TechKnowledge$33,600 to Sonia Sola for Nectar Hills Farm$11,700 to Karl Benner and Megan Haggerty for The Local Bird$11,700 to Jessie and Mathia Coughton for Spurbeck’s Grocery$26,200 to Erin Reynolds and Nathan Carson for Roaming Roots$17,500 to Christina M. Sonnenberg for Get Fresh on the Main$17,500 to Kristina Strain for Badgerface Beauty Supply