Highland County is getting $228,000 to fix up its senior citizens center, part of a broader round of state funding that is sending nearly $11.1 million to 49 communities across Ohio for infrastructure and public-service projects. The money will go toward repairing the center's parking lot and sidewalks, installing new security equipment and lighting, replacing aging heating and cooling equipment, and upgrading the facility's phone system.
The funding comes through the federal Community Development Block Grant Allocation Program, according to The Highland County Press. Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik announced the statewide allocations, saying the investments “support the things Ohioans count on every day” and are meant to help communities improve residents' quality of life.
What the Grant Program Covers
The CDBG program is designed to fund a wide range of local needs beyond the Highland County senior center project. Eligible infrastructure work can include street repairs, sidewalk improvements, parks and recreation facilities, water and sewer line replacements, and community centers, per the same report. Public-service dollars under the program can also support efforts like Meals on Wheels, health and wellness programs, and housing and homelessness assistance.
The Ohio Department of Development describes its broader mission as empowering communities to succeed by investing in the state's people, places, and businesses. Officials have framed the CDBG-funded projects as aimed at spurring economic growth alongside the day-to-day quality-of-life improvements for residents who use facilities like the senior center.
Earlier Steps Toward the Project
The push for funding dates back several months. In May, Highland County commissioners approved an application for CDBG funding specifically for improvements to the senior citizens center, according to The Times-Gazette. At that time, estimates for the full project came in at $213,844, including $182,400 in CDBG funding — figures that predate the $228,000 allocation now confirmed for the county, though the evidence does not clarify how the two sets of numbers relate.
How the Numbers Stack Up Statewide
Highland County's award is one slice of a much larger pool of state and federal dollars moving through Ohio's municipalities this year. Separate coverage from WBNO/WQCT reported that 32 Ohio communities are receiving a combined $17.5 million in neighborhood revitalization and essential infrastructure awards, including $7.5 million in neighborhood development awards spread across ten localities and $10 million in critical infrastructure funds for 22 towns.
Allocation formulas for programs like CDBG are shaped in part by federal demographic data. A Congressional Research Service excerpt notes that CDBG program allocations are determined through a dual formula using data from the decennial census and the American Community Survey, which the excerpt describes as updated periodically, according to Congress.gov.
For now, the Highland County Senior Citizens Center is set to see a refreshed parking lot, better security and lighting, updated climate control, and a modernized phone system, funded through the state's latest round of community development awards.
