North end revitalization drive continues
COSHOCTON - Replacing sidewalks, repaving streets and installing new street signs were just some of the ideas proposed Thursday night during a public hearing in City Hall on efforts to revitalize the north end.
Mayor Steve Mercer also suggested cutting down or pruning old trees in the city right of way in conjunction with the Tree Commission.
First Ward Councilman Bob Fetters passed along a request from a Coe Avenue resident who wants his sidewalks fixed and his street widened and repaved to allow for two-way traffic.
City officials and residents hope to improve the north end neighborhood through a $500,000 Neighborhood Revitalization Grant, federal money funneled through the Ohio Development Services Agency.
The neighborhood covered by the grant request lies north of Chestnut Street, and is otherwise bounded by the Tuscarawas River and the railroad tracks east of 14th Street.
The state had previously exempted a southeastern segment from Fifth to 14th streets based on census figures, but agreed to round off the area to add an additional nine blocks, according to Whitaker Wright, senior planner for Community Development Consultants of Ohio.
The county commissioners hired Wright's firm to oversee the grant application process through the county's Community Development Block Grant Program.
Wright, based in Columbus, had asked city residents to submit ideas for proposed projects by Thursday's meeting, the second in a series that began Feb. 2. Subsequent public sessions will follow, but plans and cost estimates must be collected by early May to meet a June deadline to file the application, he said.
Only three members of the public unaffiliated with city government attended Thursday's meeting.
Wright said surveys seeking ideas for consideration are still available at City Hall and must be submitted by the next public session, set for 6 p.m. March 16 in Council Chambers, City Hall. Wright said he hopes to "nail down the bigger projects" at that session to allow the city time to present them to an engineer.
Before that, Wright said he plans to meet with a local pastor at 11 a.m. Thursday in City Hall to discuss possible community projects that could enhance the city's chances of earning the grant. Afterwards, he said, he will walk the north end neighborhood with Fetters and Anne Cornell, artistic director for the Pomerene Center for the Arts, to see the neighborhood up close.
Cornell said she is interested in pursuing a "place-making project" to enhance homes at the city's western gateway "to say that this is our neighborhood."
Cornell was instrumental in spearheading the creation of the artPARK downtown in the 300 block of Main Street, the site of the former Park Hotel, which was destroyed by arson in 2005.
Community-based volunteer projects can improve the city's chances of receiving a grant, Wright said. They must be age-appropriate and skill-appropriate, but could include landscaping, creating community gardens, building gazebos or shelters and installing playground equipment and signs.
Wright seeks community groups interested in spearheading a project, which would have to be completed between Sept. 1, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2019, the period covered by the grant.
Improvements to actual infrastructure - streets, sidewalks, water and sewer lines - while eligible for the grant, cannot be undertaken by volunteer groups and are considered the governmental entity's responsibility, Wright said.
The city of Wellston, Ohio, in Jackson County, is replacing water lines and fire hydrants, correcting drainage problems, repaving streets and demolishing three buildings in its $500,000 project, Wright said.
Kenton, Ohio, installed park playground equipment, grills, benches and bleachers, as well as rehabbing a baseball field through a $300,000 grant, Wright said. The city also paved a street and installed street and stop signs. Other city, county and volunteer projects supplemented the effort.
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