Grant likely to fund Chickasaw projects

CELINA - Mercer County officials aim to allocate at least $166,000 in federal grant money toward the village of Chickasaw's proposed $2.1 million infrastructure project involving street and water line improvements on the north side of town.

However, depending on how the grant award process shakes out, county officials could offer close to $1 million in assistance for the infrastructure work.

County commissioners on Thursday held a state-mandated public hearing to outline plans to apply for and spend federal Community Development Block Grant Small Cities Program dollars administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency.

This year the county is in line for $166,000 through the CDBG Community Development Allocation Program.

The funds, which are very likely to be awarded, would go toward the replacement of Chickasaw's Wayne Street water line, county community development director Jared Ebbing said. The village would offer a $30,000 match.

"Every other year we get our allocation and this year we get $166,0000," said Ebbing.

This is the same source of funding county officials tapped to upgrade several streets in Mendon in 2020.

County officials also will seek $750,000 through the CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization Program to help pay for a more extensive infrastructure project in the village. These dollars are not guaranteed, Ebbing noted.

"If for some reason we don't get the Neighborhood Revitalization (grant), we'll still do that waterline as a stand alone project," Ebbing said. "If we get the neighborhood revitalization, it becomes one big, big project that includes that water line and street and storm sewers and things like that."

Ebbing works directly with village and city leaders on the Community Development Implementation Strategy board to map out priorities and gain a consensus on which project the county should focus each year, a strategy that involves using initial funding sources as leverage to land even more state and federal dollars.

It makes more strategic sense to dedicate all allocation funds toward a single project rather than multiple small-scale projects, Ebbing has said.

"We pooled our resources," Ebbing said. "We've done this for years. You take that allocation and rather than just having it as the stand alone project, let's match it with the village's $30,000 of local money and let's put together (a bigger project)."

Chickasaw Mayor Ben Kramer at an April village council meeting reported that Craig Knapke of Access Engineering went over portions of the north side improvement project, which would involve the repaving, improvement or complete reconstruction of several streets.

The project would involve the total reconstruction of Wayne Street, including new water lines and storm sewer lines and Americans with Disabilities Act compliant sidewalks, and repaving state routes 274 and 716.

Officials also want to widen Chickasaw Road by two feet on both sides between State Route 274 and Wayne Street to make it 24 feet wide to accommodate increased traffic. Some work also is planned on Virginia Street, such as repaving the street and replacing water lines and storm sewer lines, Kramer has said. First Street would receive a two-inch mill and overlay, and officials also hope to get three new stationary radar speed signs on state routes 274 and 216.

Depending on the funding received by the village, Kramer has said Roosevelt, Center, Liberty and Veterans streets also may receive improvements, although they're not an immediate priority.