Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the village of Hunter has received a $1.97 million state grant to relocate its firehouse outside of the 100-year and 500-year flood hazard areas of the Schoharie Creek. As part of a statewide initiative, the state Department of Environmental Conservation this week awarded $11 million in funds as part of the Climate Smart Communities Grant program. The Hunter project was the only proposal in Greene County to receive money in this funding round. “We’ve needed a new firehouse for decades,” Hunter Village Mayor Alan Higgins said. “Since we did the local flood analysis, some things were identified in the village that would be helpful with our flood zones. One of them was to replace the bridge on Bridge Street and we see that as a real major need for the village as well.” The award is a 50 percent matching grant which will cover half of the cost of the $3.8 million firehouse project. “The property that we were looking at that’s in the grant has since pulled out of that deal,” Higgins said. “So we’re actively searching for a property now. It’s just a little wrench in the gears. We needed to move that firehouse so we applied for that grant and it’s amazing that we got it. It’s a competitive grant, so there were no guarantees there.” The mayor said the village will reconvene its relocation committee in the next two weeks with the intent of identifying a new property for the project. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.