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Hochul wants $4 million to establish first NY state veterans cemetery in Seneca County

The Citizen - 1/19/2022

Jan. 19—In her first executive budget, Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking $4 million to establish the first New York state veterans cemetery in Seneca County.

Hochul's budget plan includes $2 million in state funds and an additional $2 million from the federal government to support Sampson Veterans Memorial Cemetery.

The cemetery, which is located at the former Sampson Air Force Base and Sampson Naval Training Station in Romulus, opened in 2011. Seneca County owns the 162-acre site and the cemetery is operated by the county's economic development corporation.

There was a years-long push to make Sampson a state-run veterans cemetery. New York is one of a few states without a state veterans cemetery.

In 2020, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo included the proposed state veterans cemetery in his State of the State agenda. The idea was supported by state legislators, especially those in the Finger Lakes region — namely state Sen. Pam Helming, who represents Seneca County — who believed that Sampson was the best choice.

The state Division of Veterans' Service released a report last year that recommended Sampson to be the first state veterans cemetery. In May, a site selection committee supported Sampson for the designation.

Sampson won the committee's support because it was built in accordance with National Cemetery Administration standards and it's already in operation. The cemetery plans to use 15 acres for an initial 6,000 gravesites, but the entire property can hold 80,000 gravesites.

After Sampson's selection, the state submitted a pre-application for federal funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Cemetery Grant Program. The program included Sampson on its priority list for grants in the federal 2022 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. According to the list, the estimated grant for Sampson cemetery would be $2.5 million.

If approved, the state would receive the federal funding later this year.

For the state's share of the funding, it must be included in the final 2022-23 budget. Hochul's proposal kicks off a process that will play out over the next two months. Hochul and state legislators hope to finalize the budget by April 1 — the start of the new fiscal year.

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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