The Poplar Bluff City Council will apply for two new grants, an American Rescue Plan Act grant for stormwater system improvement and a MoDOT Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant to beautify Vine Street sidewalks.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is distributing the $150 million ARPA grant statewide, with a maximum project size of $5 million, according to information discussed Monday at a special council meeting.
City Manager Matt Winters said the city decided to include a 1% cash match for the greatest chance of acceptance.
“What we committed to in our application is requesting $5 million in grant funding and committing $50,001 in local cash match,” he said.
The city is working with Horner & Shifrin, Inc. for projects and estimates. So far the improvements include lining some ditches with concrete, replacing culverts, cleaning ditches and buying a new street sweeper.
The street department’s current street sweeper has consistently broken down. Replacing it ties into efficacy of the stormwater system as a whole.
“We actually track the amount of debris that we collect each time we use our street sweeper... Whether it’s cigarette butts or soda cans or Styrofoam cups or whatever that the street sweeper’s picking up, it’s helping to reduce the amount of that kind of trash that ends up in our waterways and our stormwater systems,” explained Winters.
All stormwater eventually feeds into the Black River.
Chelsea Cordia of the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission submitted the TAP grant proposal for upgrades to Vine Street.
“It’s a project we’ve submitted in the past to TAP and it was not funded. We kind of reworked it a little bit to make it a viable TAP project, and I think that it has a good chance of being a competitive project,” she said.
The proposal revolves around ripping out and replacing the old sidewalk on the north side of the road between Fifth and Broadway streets, but leaves room for cosmetic improvements falling under the umbrella of sidewalk beautification.
“Once we demolish and remove the sidewalks, we will then bury the electrical utility wires underground,” she said.
The proposal also includes ensuring ADA accessibility and adding street lights. The phrase “street lighting” was intentionally left ambiguous in the language of the application to avoid naming fixtures the grant would not allow. Cordia explained if the grant is funded, the city can then choose the best fit for the street out of what is permitted.