INDIANAPOLI — Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs on Wednesday announced 13 rural Indiana communities will receive more than $8 million in federal grant funding to create and expand community facilities, remove blight and improve water infrastructure.
“Rural Indiana is the next great economic frontier,” said Lt. Gov. Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “But to achieve that success, we can’t ignore the needed maintenance of basic, but vital, aspects of community infrastructure. This grant money will enable these 13 Hoosier communities to find economic growth while improving health and safety across the state.”
The State of Indiana distributes Community Development Block Grant funds to rural communities, which assist units of local government with various community projects such as infrastructure improvement, downtown revitalization, public facilities and economic development.
“Community Development Block Grant projects can be transformational for communities,” said OCRA Executive Director Duke Bennett. “I applaud the leaders from each of these 13 communities for taking advantage of the opportunity to further improve their cities, towns and counties.”
The Public Facilities Program creates and expands community facilities that enhance the lives of residents. Eligible projects include fire stations, community facilities, libraries, museums, community centers, and performance spaces that open doors to knowledge and ideas, culture, and enjoyment.
Projects receiving Public Facilities Program grant funding include:
• Decatur County, with the Decatur County Family YMCA, is awarded $500,000 for the completion of necessary building improvements to the YMCA.
• The Town of Vevay is awarded $459,410 for the exterior rehabilitation of the Vevay Hoosier Theater.
The Blight Clearance Program strives to encourage Indiana communities with blighted properties to focus on long-term community development and revitalization through improving quality of place, generating jobs and spurring economic revitalization. Eligible projects to receive grant funding through BCP are deteriorated or abandoned downtown buildings or vacant and unusable industrial sites.
One project is receiving Blight Clearance Program grant funding:
• The City of Tell City is awarded $500,000 to demolish and clear the site of the former Perry County Memorial Hospital.
The Stormwater Improvement Program strives to reduce flooding, cut stormwater treatment and energy costs, and protect rivers, lakes and vital landscapes. Types of activities that are eligible for this grant funding include stormwater improvements, as well as demolition and clearance.
Projects receiving Stormwater Improvement Program grant funding include:
• The Town of Selma is awarded $600,000 to make necessary improvements to its stormwater system.
• The Town of Fillmore is awarded $600,000 to reduce flooding and sanitary inflow and infiltration.
The goals of the Wastewater/Drinking Water Program are to protect resident and environmental health, reduce utility rates for low-to-moderate income communities and improve rural infrastructure to enable long-term economic growth.
Projects receiving Wastewater Drinking Water Program grant funding include:
• Dekalb County is awarded $700,000 to build a new wastewater treatment plant for the St. Joe Spencerville Regional Sewer District.
• The Town of Colfax is awarded $600,000 to upgrade the town’s collection system.
• The City of Plymouth is awarded $700,000 to rehabilitate the city’s elevated water storage tank and upgrade various water mains.
• The Town of Walkerton is awarded $700,000 to replace sewer line force mains in the Sunset/Grissom neighborhood.
• The City of Scottsburg is awarded $700,000 to line portions of the wastewater system and upgrade a lift station.
• The Town of Worthington is awarded $700,000 to enhance the wastewater treatment plant’s capacity to remove ammonia from wastewater and to improve conditions for operator and resident safety.
• The City of Clinton is awarded $700,000 to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant and reduce overflows for the community.
• The Town of Kingman is awarded $700,000 to perform a comprehensive rehabilitation of its water system. Upgrades will include improvements on the water treatment plant, water storage facilities and distribution system.
Funding for OCRA’s CDBG programs originates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program and is administered for the State of Indiana by OCRA. For more information, visit in.gov/ocra/cdbg.
