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2 Valley projects still in running for $330K
By DAVID SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
Two Mahoning Valley projects to make local government more efficient are among 10 finalists vying for $330,000 being offered by an organization that supports economic growth and collaboration in Northeast Ohio.
The Fund for Our Economic Future received 27 proposals for money from its EfficientGovNow program and reduced it to 10.
Three winners will be determined by a public vote through May 31, with the organization having the option to award a fourth grant involving smaller communities.
Northeast Ohio residents can vote online at www.efficientgovnow.org or by telephone at (877) 771-5206.
The winners will be announced in early June.
Last year, two Mahoning Valley projects were among the three that were funded.
The two Valley proposals in the final 10:
Creating a collaborative land bank for portions of Mahoning County to stabilize the housing market and stop the spread of property abandonment. The proposal’s participants are Youngstown, Campbell, Struthers, Austintown and Lien Forward Ohio. The project’s cost is $76,775. The grant request is $61,420.
A Trumbull County geographical-information system, with the county engineer’s office as the lead agency, that would provide computer upgrades and equipment for 911 services for various county departments and the cities of Warren and Niles. The project’s cost is $125,903, and the agencies are seeking $99,500 from the fund.
The Fund for Our Economic Future consists of more than 100 foundations, organizations and philanthropists from 16 counties in Northeast Ohio, including Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana.