Plenty of financing options come to life in township meeting
State funding agencies like Amy Walkenspaw of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance along with local agencies like Holmes Soil and Water Conservation District's Trevor Berger gave township trustees, local government and nonprofit organization leaders leads on how to find grant funding to support projects.
When it comes to financing county and township projects, each dollar that supports the effort matters.
With a large pool of federal and state funding available to those who know where to seek it and how to apply for it, finding ways to finance a project is as simple as knowing where to turn for guidance and leadership in securing grants.
During the recent 19th annual Holmes County engineer’s meeting for townships at Harvest Ridge on Saturday, April 6, 10 organizations created to help counties find grant funding came to the table to present options for grants.
Included in the list of presenters for the event were the following: John Miller, United States Department of Agriculture; Victoria Beale, Ohio Department of Transportation of Local Technical Assistance Program; Amy Walkenspaw, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance; Will Gaberle, Ohio Public Works Commission; Vicki King-Maple, Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association; Ethan Zucal and Matt Thomas of Muskingum Watershed Conservation District; Pam Ewing, Rural Community Assistance Partnership; Arnold Oliver, Holmes County planning commissioner; and Trevor Berger and Karen Gotter from Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District.
King-Maple said building these types of relationships among counties and townships is central to the purpose of each of the organizations that were represented.
“We come and engage and connect with each one of you to share all of the resources we have at your disposal,” King-Maple said. “We are here to invest in your project planning, and it’s our honor to serve you. We all want to help tell your story and meet you where you are, to help you create your own compelling stories. The collaborations we build together are an integral part of all of our success.”
She said each entity plays in the same sandbox with a lot of partners who can combine assets to aid in the projects of local county government roles, and serving as a conduit to success is what each of the larger statewide government entities share.
Beale said attending this meeting was an honor, and she was excited to see such a big turnout. She said finding her way to this meeting over the years has always been encouraging because she realizes Holmes County consists of hardworking people who want to do what is best for their respective communities.
“Holmes County is my happy place,” she said. “When we can come together and work together toward a common goal, we are all going to win.”
Beale spoke about building up and creating better and safer county and township roads during her time at the microphone.
Walkenspaw discussed her organization’s focus on water and incentive programs designed to assist small community wastewater plants in improving operations and efficiency and administer two low-interest state revolving loan fund programs that finance municipal wastewater treatment, water-quality improvement and drinking water projects.
Gaberle said Ohio Public Works is designed to help counties with infrastructure growth with a focus on the Clean Ohio Act.
Each of the organizations shared plenty of pertinent information with those in attendance, and the purpose of each reaching out into the Holmes County community to make connections was achieved.
“It’s remarkable to learn about everything these agencies and organizations can offer us in terms of aid and direction,” Holmes County commissioner Dave Hall said. “We appreciate them giving us their time and sharing some really important information that can be confusing and hard to figure out, especially when we’re not aware of all of the funding organizations out there just waiting to lend a hand and help us get a lot of important projects off the ground. What’s best of all is that many of these organizations work together to make exciting things happen.”