May 3, 2021 FONDA– The Montgomery County Legislature approved a firm Tuesday to begin cleanup and reuse plans on four Brownfield properties within the county. In March of 2021, Montgomery County accepted a $300,000 United States Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Community Wide Assessment Grant. Funds can be used to inventory, characterize, assess and conduct cleanup, planning and community involvement related activities for Brownfield sites along the Mohawk River. Weston & Sampson was awarded the contract to begin working on the properties. Part of the EPA grant will also include public outreach and planning for all four sites. The properties being reviewed are: Medical Linen Systems in St. Johnsville, 87 N. Division St, an old tannery, distillery, paper mill in St. Johnsville, a lot near the 5 Corners in Amsterdam which is location in a Brownfield Opportunity Area and the former Arkell & Smiths Sack Company which was a factory built in the 1860s and made the first modern sugar bag in the 1870s. An Opportunity Area is an economically-distressed community where new investment, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.