Commissioners discuss possible grants

Van Wert independent

The Van Wert County Board of Commissioners heard about some possible grant programs that could be beneficial to areas of the county, especially downtown Van Wert and unsewered areas in the Overholt Addition and along Richey Road in the county.

Rick Weaver of Poggemeyer Design Group held a preliminary discussion with the commissioners about a new grant program from the Ohio Water Development Authority that could help defray some of the costs of installing sewers in the above two unsewered rural areas.

No application guidelines have been set, at this time, however, so it is unclear whether the Overholt and Richey Road projects would qualify – something that has been a problem with other grant and low-costs loan programs, which require residential income to be in the low- to moderate- areas. Neither the Overholt Addition nor the Richey Road area meets income requirements for those programs.

Without grant funding, the projects are too expensive for residents to afford.

The commissioners are cautiously optimistic that the new OWDA program could provide financial assistance for both of those projects.

Also Thursday, Main Street Van Wert Project Manager Adam Ries met with the commissioners to discuss applying for another Tier 1 grant for Van Wert’s downtown area.

The grant would provide up to $300,000 for downtown revitalization projects. Ries was seeking approval from the commissioners to apply for the grant money. He will also need approval from Van Wert City Council to do so.

That approval would need to come quickly, though, since the deadline for having an application in Columbus is Friday, June 21 – just two weeks away.