Downtown improvement projects wrapping up
City planner hopes to use all of state grant funds
The city is working with state grant money to help fund facade improvements downtown. Photo by EMILY CANNING-DEAN
WADSWORTH – A total of 19 downtown buildings are undergoing improvements thanks to a grant from the state, and most of those improvements should be finished up by the end of the month.
The city received $270,000 from the Ohio Development Service Agency to help fund downtown improvement projects. This money is being used to cover up to 75 percent, or up to $20,000, of the cost of certain improvement projects. The grant program technically ends Oct. 31, but construction of the improvement projects is supposed to wrap up by Aug. 31.
“Our goal is to return as close to zero of the money to the state when the grant program is over,” said City Planner Jeff Kaiser. “We did have an applicant drop out at the last minute which frees up some additional funds, but we are rather tight on time to get that spent.”
Still, Kaiser said it is possible to fund one more project. He said the city is working with the county and the state to see what their options are.
“We are going to see if we can get an extension to that construction timeline,” Kaiser said. “If we can get an additional project finished by Sept. 30 then we could still close out the grant by Oct. 31.”
Kaiser said the target was to spend all of the $270,000 and complete 22 projects. But he said it makes sense that the number of projects is slightly fewer since some of the parameters of the grant changed.
“Originally, the grant reimbursement was going to be 50 percent, but that was increased to 75 percent,” he said. “We heard a lot of complaints about how having to pay prevailing wages was driving the cost up which is why we upped the reimbursement.”
Kaiser said it is possible the city could receive this grant again in the future. He said the city would have to reapply for the grant and added that the chances of having the grant awarded again will depend on how well the city does with the current grant money.
The city received $270,000 from the Ohio Development Service Agency to help fund downtown improvement projects. This money is being used to cover up to 75 percent, or up to $20,000, of the cost of certain improvement projects. The grant program technically ends Oct. 31, but construction of the improvement projects is supposed to wrap up by Aug. 31.
“Our goal is to return as close to zero of the money to the state when the grant program is over,” said City Planner Jeff Kaiser. “We did have an applicant drop out at the last minute which frees up some additional funds, but we are rather tight on time to get that spent.”
Still, Kaiser said it is possible to fund one more project. He said the city is working with the county and the state to see what their options are.
“We are going to see if we can get an extension to that construction timeline,” Kaiser said. “If we can get an additional project finished by Sept. 30 then we could still close out the grant by Oct. 31.”
Kaiser said the target was to spend all of the $270,000 and complete 22 projects. But he said it makes sense that the number of projects is slightly fewer since some of the parameters of the grant changed.
“Originally, the grant reimbursement was going to be 50 percent, but that was increased to 75 percent,” he said. “We heard a lot of complaints about how having to pay prevailing wages was driving the cost up which is why we upped the reimbursement.”
Kaiser said it is possible the city could receive this grant again in the future. He said the city would have to reapply for the grant and added that the chances of having the grant awarded again will depend on how well the city does with the current grant money.
