Our communities receive strong support from grants

Grant money is usually a big topic around election times.
Almost every candidate I’ve interviewed for elected office over the years has brought it up as a need for a city, school or county agency.
Grant money helps local departments stretch local tax dollars farther. It’s a well known fact.
Without grant money, Poplar Bluff wouldn’t have an industrial park overpass, which was completed in 2019 with more than $3 million in federal and state grant money, Carter County wouldn’t have $15,000 to increase internet bandwidth at two library locations, the city of Puxico wouldn’t have $300,000 for street paving projects, and many other needed work wouldn’t get done in our area.
I wanted to highlight some of the local grant efforts this week, because I think it is something that can slip under the radar for many residents as they go about their busy schedules.
Many of the agencies I’ve covered over the years regularly seek grant money.
It’s an effort which is supported by the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission, an agency we’re extremely fortunate to have in our area. Workers there watch for grant opportunities and help our local officials apply for the money. They wear many other hats over at OFRPC, but this one has helped make many of the big and small changes we’ve seen over the years. For instance, in 2020 they’re working with counties like Wayne, Butler and Ripley on about $500,000 worth of grant projects for work such as flood mitigation, wastewater treatment and a nutrition center building.
A well written and well targeted grant application can make or break a project and I’m glad we have a resource in our area to help with that.
Here are a few grants the city of Poplar Bluff is working on right now. All of these items were discussed Monday by the Poplar Bluff City Council.
Poplar Bluff city officials are requesting grants for three city projects from the state’s Community Development Block Grant Mitigation program.
All of the projects would benefit targeted populations of 53.5% low-to-moderate income.
They are:
• Roxie Road Bridge replacement
Total project cost (estimated):
$578,900.
City cost:
No monetary cost. Possible in kind work.
Benefits:
“That bridge is getting a lot more traffic,” said city manager Matt Winters, commenting that this has come with growth on the north side of Poplar Bluff and the completion of Phase II of Shelby Road.
The current bridge is very narrow, Winters said, explaining in response to questions from council that the new bridge would be wider but the road would not. The approach would likely be wider, Winters said.
• Emergency generator for new Poplar Bluff Police Department, emergency management sector
Total project cost (estimated):
$175,000
City cost:
No monetary cost. Possible in kind work.
Benefits:
The new PBPD will require an emergency generator for its 911 emergency center, said Winters. This grant would help provide an item the city already needs to purchase.
Architects for the project would provide the specifications for the generator to ensure the appropriate equipment was purchased, Winters said.
• Stormwater improvements at various city locations
Total project cost (estimated): $283,100
City cost:
No monetary cost. Possible in kind work.
Benefits:
The city has currently proposed improvements to: the 700 block of Cynthia Street; 2260 N. Westwood Blvd.; the Henry Street and WW Highway intersection; the area of 1325 Maud St.
Street department Superintendent Jerry Lawson has worked with the engineering firm selected by council, Horner and Shifrin, to identify locations, Winters said.
“We’re going to get as many projects as we can in this application,” Winters said.