NARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) awarded $10,000 to the Town of Hancock toward the completion of phase one of a Town/Village of Hancock joint comprehensive plan under its fiscal year 2021 Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) program.

The Hancock Town Board engaged Shepstone Management to work with a comprehensive plan committee that met monthly and included representatives from the town and village governments, Delaware County Department of Planning and Watershed Affairs, Hancock Partners, Friends of the Upper Delaware River and the Hancock Central School District.

They developed a community inventory, assessment of needs, and compiled short-term and long-term goals. Surveys were conducted to gather input from local residents, businesses, emergency services, and second homeowners.

A total of $14,970 was spent on the first phase.

The next phase will include the development of an action plan, with objectives and completion timeframes. There will be a public review period before Hancock’s town and village boards vote on adoption.

The new joint master comprehensive plan will serve as the foundation for local land-use practices and the adoption of policies and resolutions to address Hancock’s environmental, economic and social sustainability over the next 15 to 20 years. The prior individual municipal plans dated back to the 1980s.

FY 2021 TAG applications were awarded by UDC resolution on October 1, 2020, and had to be completed by August 20 of this year.

From 1988–2021, the council has awarded a cumulative total of $916,952 to fund 260 municipal projects.

Visit the Technical Assistance Grants page at www.upperdelawarecouncil.org, or contact UDC Resources and Land Use Specialist Shannon Cilento at 845/252-3022 or email shannon@upperdelawarecouncil.org for more information.