County RPC looks at grants, projects

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert County Regional Planning Commission met Tuesday evening in the Van Wert County Board of Commissioners’ conference room to discuss various recreational projects and funding possibilities.

Consultants Kent Bryan and Danielle Steinhauser from CT Consultants’ Toledo office and Neal Hess from the consulting firm’s Cleveland office, were on hand to talk about various grant opportunities available to the county, and what types of projects would be a good fit for those grants. Grant writing consultant Ron Puthoff also attended the meeting and provided input on the various grants.

County Commissioners Todd Wolfrum (RPC chair), Thad Lichtensteiger and Stan Owens were also at the meeting, as was Sarah Smith and Sue Gerker from the county economic development office and Delphos Safety-Service Director Shane Coleman.

Following the RPC’s approval of its typical “housekeeping” duties, the consultants had the chance to make a presentation on various grant-funded projects, including a possible county Rails to Trails project and various bike paths and other possible recreational projects.

A number of grants were discussed as funding possibilities for the projects, including grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, NatureWorks program and various other state and federal loan programs.

According to the consultants, some of the grant programs would include money for land acquisition, while all require local matching funds.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides annual grants of up to $150,000 statewide and up to 50 percent for recreational park amenities, and the rehabilitation of existing park areas. The grant requires a dollar-for-dollar local match, while land acquisition is an eligible activity under the grant guidelines.

The Clean Ohio Conservation Fund has approximately $1 million-$2 million available for grant projects, including limited recreational development projects.

The NatureWorks grant program provides grants of approximately $50,000 or less for various public park or other recreational projects.

Lichtensteiger, who is also a trustee of The Van Wert County Foundation, noted that the foundation might be interested in providing some financial assistance for a worthy project, possibly the extension of a bike trail from the proposed Franklin Park project for which the foundation has already pledged funding. Lichtensteiger said foundation funding would depend on what projects might be developed.

The consultants recommended that county officials write down some project ideas and establish some goals and priorities for projects. More meetings are likely to further discuss project and funding possibilities.