A scuba diver holds up a bag of freshly harvested Eurasian watermilfoil from Fish Creek Pond in the fall of 2017. Friends of Moody Pond is receiving $7,500 from the LEAF grants to remove Eurasian Watermilfoil from Moody Pond. (Enterprise file photo — Justin A. Levine)

LAKE PLACID — The North Elba Local Enhancement and Advancement Fund committee is awarding more than $740,000 to 19 local organizations for projects intended to benefit the community.

The North Elba Town Council voted unanimously to approve the second round of LEAF grant recipients at their meeting this past Tuesday. Councilor Emily Politi recused herself. Politi is on the board for the Homestead Development Corporation, which received a grant in this round of LEAF funding.

The first round of grants was distributed earlier this year, with more than $560,000 going to 17 local organizations. Five of the organizations granted money in the second round — the Lake Placid Community Beautification Association, the Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service, the town of North Elba, the village of Lake Placid, and the Lake Placid Land Conservancy — were also awarded funding in the first round.

The grants are funded by revenue generated by the county’s 5% occupancy tax — a tax collected on all hotel, motel, bed-and-breakfast and short-term vacation rental stays in Essex County. From the 5% tax, about 3% goes to the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism and 2% goes into a fund that directs money to each of Essex County’s 18 towns. The county also keeps some of the revenue to pay for administrative costs.

The 19 organizations approved for funding in the second round of LEAF grants include:

¯ Lake Placid Community Beautification Association, Inc., $50,000 for holiday decorations and water-conserving pots

¯ North Elba Park District, $39,352 for the purchase of a Kubota RTV multi purpose vehicle with attachments

¯ Adirondack Medical Center, $39,135 to “continue (its) legacy of serving athletes and the community,” according to a news release from ROOST

¯ Homestead Development Corporation, $125,000 for the Fawn Valley housing development

¯ North Elba Youth Commission, $7,000

¯ Shipman Youth Center, $39,807 to “attract more students to the center,” according to a news release from ROOST

¯ Digital Abraham Inc., $2,700 to complete a roof project

¯ John Brown Lives, $12,000, to “engage children and families at the farm,” according to ROOST

¯ Lake Placid Middle/High School, $50,000 for cafeteria improvements

¯ Lake Placid Volunteer Ambulance Service, $147,000 for a vehicle replacement program

¯ American Legion Post 326, $5,000 for the Hometown Heroes program

¯ Adirondack Mountain Club, $50,000 to improve accessibility on Mt. Jo Long trail

¯ Cornell University Uihlein Maple Research Forest, $5,897 to develop a self-guided tour and nature trail for the education of maple syrup production

¯ Town of North Elba, $9,500 for virtual meeting streaming equipment

¯ Village of Lake Placid, $150,000 for the Mirror Lake beach dock

¯ Lake Placid Municipal Electric, $2,730 for a banner bracket system update

¯ Friends of Moody Pond, $7,500 to remove Eurasian Watermilfoil from Moody Pond

¯ Lake Placid Land Conservancy, $2,681 for “tools of engagement,” according to a news release from ROOST

¯ Lake Placid Sinfonietta, $2,750 for a music library catalog project

The deadline to submit an application for the next round of LEAF funding is Feb. 1, 2022, and the town board will approve the applications no later than May 10, 2022. People can view application criteria at www.roostadk.com/leaf.