NORWICH – A request for county funding made by the Town of Bainbridge to renovate the bathroom facilities at General Clinton Park was approved by the Chenango County Board of Supervisors on Monday, but not without deliberation among some county officials who feared they may have set an unwanted precedent for how the county’s economic development funds should be allocated.

Board members passed a resolution authorizing that $7,500 be allocated from the county’s “Infrastructure, Promotion and Business Development” budget account for the project which will include upgrades to the bathrooms and making them more handicap accessible. Being that General Clinton Park draws thousands of visitors each year for the annual General Clinton Canoe Regatta, supporters of the resolution say the allocation coincides with the goal of using that money for economic development purposes.

Bainbridge, however, is the first township to apply for – and receive – economic development funds from the county, leading some county officials to wonder if that will open the floodgates for all townships to apply for funds from the same pot of money in the future. What’s more, some also questioned the prudence of helping Bainbridge improve facilities that are the town’s responsibility to maintain.

“I don’t think the intended use of these funds, at least from my perspective, is for towns to use for infrastructure improvements in this way,” said Plymouth Supervisor Jerry Kreiner. “I guess some argument can be made that this is for economic development, but it’s really one of those things that you can spin either way.”

Kreiner added that if the resolution were to pass, he would be interested in knowing the procedures to apply for county economic development funding on behalf of the Town of Plymouth.