Mary Alice Reporting – A historic investment is being made to transform Appalachian communities in 32 Ohio counties, including Tuscarawas.
Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 377, allocating $500 million for projects in a region that covers the eastern counties of the state from Ashtabula to Clermont.
Under the Bill, DeWine notes that the funding will help toward infrastructure, health care, and workforce development.
“Local government are the ones who really know what’s going on in their community and so what we hope is that this money will enable you to do things you couldn’t have done before. It can be used for a lot of different things. Certainly can be used for revitalization of downtown, other infrastructure projects, it can be used for anything having to do with the health of the community, whether that’s mental health, clinics, or other things.”
Within the listed Appalachian counties, Tuscarawas is included along with surrounding counties of Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, and Holmes.
As part of “OhioBuilds – Small Communities, Big Impact – A Plan for Appalachia” includes a $50 million planning phase to allow Appalachian communities and regional partnerships to develop transformational plans that incorporate each of the three aforementioned priorities.
The grant process will be administered by the Governor’s Office of Appalachia within the Ohio Department of Development and the funding will be available through multiple application rounds.
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