Erie County Legislator Kevin Hardwick announced that $6,500 has been budgeted to several organizations throughout the Town of Grand Island. The legislature approved the funding at the Dec. 7 annual budget meeting. Organizations to receive funding include:
•$1,000 to the Grand Island Historical Society to fund further preservation of records.
•$500 to the Grand Island Golden Age Club to purchase a new iHome and DVD player.
•$5,000 to the Grand Island VFW Post 9249 for the expansion of the DeGlopper Memorial.
"These organizations are valuable assets to our community and I'm glad that we were able to provide these much-needed resources to help improve the quality of life for the residents of Grand Island," said Hardwick.
"The Grand Island Historical Society greatly appreciates the recognition and support of the County Legislature for our educational mission. Funds will be used to make the historical artifacts at River Lea more accessible to the public, with the long-range goal of digitizing the collection and making it available online," said Historical Society President Curtis Nestark.
"We are so grateful to Legislator Hardwick for his help in securing these funds, our hope is to use the new DVD player and iHome to enhance our programming here," stated Jennifer Menter, recreation leader at the Grand Island Golden Age Center.
"We are grateful to Legislator Kevin Hardwick for his support in obtaining this funding for our VFW post. It will be instrumental in helping us expand the DeGlopper Memorial area so we can honor all Grand Island residents who have served in the military," stated Erik Anderson, chairman of the Board of Directors for the DeGlopper Memorial expansion project.
The additional funding was added into the 2018 budget while decreasing taxes for the fourth consecutive year.
