TUPPER LAKE — A new committee of local and regional representatives has been created to vet and select projects to recommend for state funding through Tupper Lake’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant. Its first meeting will be held virtually next Wednesday and the public is invited to attend.

The village of Tupper Lake was awarded the DRI in December 2021.

The committee’s 14-member list was released Tuesday by village Mayor Paul Maroun, one of the two committee co-chairs selected by the state. The other co-chair is North Country Regional Economic Development Council Co-Chair James McKenna. McKenna is also the CEO of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.

Maroun said he and McKenna recommended some people to the board and the state recommended some names. In the end, the state chose all the people on the committee. Maroun said this is an example of how the larger program works. The committee will make suggestions on what projects to fund, but in the end, it’s the state’s decision.

Maroun said this first meeting will be a good chance to meet all the players and decision-makers, learn about timelines for when project applications are due and to learn who to ask questions to.

Maroun said since the grant was announced in December he’s been hounded by people asking him how they can get a piece of the $10 million.

Others, he said, don’t believe in grants.

The Junction area is not included in the DRI project region, so properties there will be ineligible for grants. Maroun said he wishes he could include the entire village in the region, but the DRI process requires that projects are contained to a small downtown area.

The consulting team led by M.J. Engineering and Land Surveying of Clifton Park will make sure the projects are viable and structurally sound, Maroun said.

“The village has presented an exciting, inspiring and thoughtful vision for its future, for both the community itself and its positive impact on the entire region,” Acting Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez said in a statement. “With six DRIs in the region now, the DRI is creating a critical mass of vibrant downtowns that bolsters the region’s future growth and supports residents, visitors and businesses alike.”

The meeting on Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. will be held over Zoom and is open to the public with a public comment period at the end of the meeting.

Registration is required to attend. Registration is available at tupperlakedri.com.

The meetings are recorded and will be posted to a website later, Maroun said.

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DRI Local Planning Committee members

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Members of the Tupper Lake DRI committee include:

¯ Susan Delehanty: Tupper Arts president and president of the Adirondack Health Board of Trustees

¯ Lisa Littlefield-Gillis: Gillis Realty co-owner and high school counselor in the Tupper Lake Central School District

¯ Seth McGowan: Adirondack Sky Center board vice president and retired Tupper Lake Central School District superintendent

¯ Stephanie Ratcliffe: Wild Center executive director

¯ Leslie Karasin: Adirondack program manager for the Northern Forest Center

¯ Nicole Hilton-Patterson: Adirondack Diversity Institute director

¯ Jessica Belleville Whitman: owner of Belleville and Associates Insurance

¯ Ellen Maroun: Aseel Legacy Fund co-manager

¯ Caroline Welsh: retired Adirondack Experience director

¯ Mark Jessie: Raquette River Brewing co-owner

¯ Rick Wilburn: reverend at the Tupper Lake Baptist Chapel

¯ Faith McClelland: Spruce and Hemlock owner

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said Susan Delehanty is the former president of the Adirondack Health Board of Trustees. She is the current chair of that board. The Enterprise regrets the error.