HARTWICK - The town of Hartwick will apply for a grant from the Glimmerglass Coalition to recover cost incurred while the town board investigated the possibility of participating in the Generic Environmental Impact Statement, or GEIS, currently underway on behalf of the towns of Middlefield and Otsego and the village of Cooperstown.

Hartwick hired an environmental attorney and an engineering firm to help with the planning board's review of development proposals and spent more than $80,000 in the process last year.

The town is still trying to recoup some of those costs from developers and adopted a new local law to require up front payment from applicants in the future.

According to town supervisor Carol Niedzialkowski, the town also spent money as it went through the decision-making process for the GEIS. Tom Fucillo, the town's environmental attorney and engineers from Stearns and Wheler both recommended the town not enter into the GEIS and the board subsequently voted to decline the offer.

The town billed the Coalition last May for costs the associated with the GEIS because, according to Niedzialkowski, they had been assured by the Coalition that it would reimburse the town.

The Coalition balked, however, claiming it was not applicant and not subject to the town's site plan review law which allows the town to recover costs from developers.

In June, the Coalition softened its stance when steering committee chairman Jim Bernegger stated in a letter that they would entertain a grant request from the town.

Last month, the Coalition sent a letter to the town saying that it would give Hartwick another 30 days to apply for funds, after which "we can only assume your interest is to forego grant assistance from the members organizations of the Glimmerglass Coalition," Bernegger wrote.

His letter was written one day after a request was made by Niedzialkowski for an application to request grant funds.

During Monday night's meeting, Niedzialkowski read a letter she received that day from the Coalition in which Bernegger stated there is no formal application, but that the town should provide a brief summary of the purpose of the grant and an itemized accounting of the requested funds.

He reiterated his earlier statement that the Coalition's committment is "to provide (to the degree possible) professional assistance to municipal and citizen groups committed to proactive planning in the future development of their town and the region."

He added that"our assessment of this committment will certainly have a bearing on the grant application."

Niedzialkowski prepared a grant request letter and asked board members to sign it during the meeting.

The itemized charges for which the town is seeking reimbursement will total between five and six thousand dollars, she said Tuesday morning. That amount is approximately half of the original figure billed to the Coalition last year.

Niedzialkowski said she pared the amount down to only those items she was "absolutely" certain applied to the GEIS review.

"I want to be able to defend anything we ask for," she said.

The coalition steering committee will expedite the review of the application, accoriding to Bernegger, who again encouraged the town to reconsider and join the GEIS which is now underway.

"Any significant development within the Susquehanna River watershed, in any single municipal boundary, has implications to the region as a whole. Certainly development dependent upon the presence of the Baseball Hall of Fame will clearly impact the carrying capacity of the northern region and its ability to assure a positive experience for residents, taxpayers and seasonal visitors," Bernegger wrote.