The City of Marysville wants to improve sidewalks on Sixth Street and it will use state funding to do it.
At Monday night’s City Council meeting, which was held remotely using the video conferencing platform Zoom, the group moved forward with legislation to apply for $150,000 in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
City Project Manager Marc Dilsaver explained that Marysville will use the CDBG funds to improve sidewalks and pedestrian connections on Sixth Street, from North Plum Street to Dunham Street. He said the CDBG grants are, “one of two ways we have funds available to us to improve pedestrian access around the city.” He said Safe Routes to School is the other option, but the city has already “exhausted all those projects.”
The CDBG grants are available to local governments and must be used to improve public facilities or services in areas with at least 51% low- or moderate-income residents.
“We are restricted to these areas, to do projects that benefit these areas,” Dilsaver said.
He said that until 2017 CDBG provided $75,000 each year. He said that in 2018, the state moved to giving the city $150,000 on a biannual process. The grant is noncompetitive and does not require a city match.
Dilsaver said the larger funds “allows us to do bigger projects and stretch our dollars.”
City Engineer Jeremy Hoyt said that having the larger dollar amount every other year, “makes sense from an efficiency standpoint,” noting that the grants require significant paperwork and administration.
“Sadly, $75,000 doesn’t get much on a construction project these days,” he added.
Dilsaver said construction will begin in the summer of 2021 and that under the terms of the grant, the work must be completed by the end of the year.
Council member Donald Boerger expressed some concern about pedestrian crossings on East Fifth Street in his ward. He said some of the street crossings have been removed. He said one of the goals is to get more people walking, but it is more difficult for them to cross the street.
“There are certain parts you don’t want pedestrians to cross,” Dilsaver said.
Dilsaver said the city wants to have pedestrians cross in areas that keep residents safe and that do not impede the traffic flow.
Boerger also asked about how the 2020 census could impact CDBG funds as well as Community Housing Impact and Preservation (CHIP) grants.
“Are we going to be able to continue to get these as the city income level goes up?” Boerger asked, noting that he expects resident income to be higher for the 2020 census than in the past.
City Finance Director Brad Lutz said the application process could change “if the census track does change.”
He said that if the income demographic changes, it will change what areas, if any, are eligible to receive the grants.
“There are going to be changes based on the 2020 census,” Lutz told the council. “What those changes might be, I wouldn’t have an idea until that census information comes out.”
Zoning Administrator Ron Todd said Union County is one of the top counties in the state for completing the census paperwork. He said about 65% of households in the county have already completed their census form.
“We want to get 100%,” he said.