By REBECCA WEBSTER

For the C-S-E

Local organizations, clubs, individuals and businesses can once again put in their applications for the Montgomery County Local Tourism Grant Program.

Administering the program will be Jacki Meola, economic development specialist for the Montgomery County Business Development Center.

Meola said the grant program was brought in house for the county in 2011, when tourism promotion was brought in, but the program existed for a handful of years before that.

“There are a number of agencies that are out there that bring in tourists to the county or have the potential to bring in tourists,” Meola said. “We help them with an event or program or something that they maybe couldn’t afford to do.”

She said the program was put in place to assist where there were gaps.

The grant is funded entirely through the Montgomery County Occupancy Tax.

Each year, the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors determines the way that money is spent, Meola said, and what is left is utilized for the grant program.

She is still waiting to hear that final total amount available for this year, but thinks it will be between $10,000 and $15,000.

Fifty-five percent of that money goes toward events or programs; 25 percent goes to material promotion; and, the last 15 percent is purely economic development. Each applicant can request a grant of up to $5,000.

Last year, of the 22 applications that were filed, 14 were funded for small grants of $200 to larger ones of $1,500.

Robert von Hasseln, president of the Historic Amsterdam League (HAL), said HAL received two small awards last year through the grant program, including one for $200 for the South Side historic tours.

“That was very helpful because they gave us money that we could use towards producing booklets,” von Hasseln said, adding the booklets have become something of a keepsake for many.

HAL was also awarded another $500 grant for the organization’s Historical Marker Program.

“What we asked the county to do was to give us a little money to prime the pump in the sense that we know we can raise money every year, through tours and our booklets, but a little up front will give us that leeway where we can do a marker every year ... and not have to wait until we raise the money for the next one,” he said.

Martin Kelly, president of the Montgomery County Farm Bureau, said that last year the bureau was awarded $1,500 through the grant program for their Sundae at the Farm program.

“We have a host farm and we open up the farm for the day for people from throughout Montgomery County and the surrounding counties,” he said.

Tours of the farm, a children’s corner, educational booths, and even a small farmers market accompanied the day.

The application process was easy, he said, as the Montgomery County Business Development Center was incredibly helpful and timely in answering questions.

With the money awarded from the program, Kelly said they were able to do more advertising for the event, create more professional-looking paper programs, and tie up some loose ends.

“(It helped) to improve the day so that people from outside the county could really get a good glimpse of what Montgomery County has to offer,” Kelly said. “I think it’s a good use of the bed tax and I hope it can continue.”

Applications are available at www.visitmontgomerycountyny.org.