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Girard wins grant for canoe launch
GIRARD
The city has won a $68,000 grant to build a canoe launch on land it owns along the Mahoning River under the viaduct.
The city applied for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant last year on behalf of Friends of the Mahoning River, which has cleared the area and is using it now as a primitive launch.
The grant was a long shot, the group believed.
“Only 10 percent of first-time applicants are successful,” said Don Rex of Friends. “So we consider ourselves very fortunate. There was considerable competition.”
“We put a very good application together,” said Mayor Jim Melfi, adding that now, it should be easier to “piggyback” more grants for sidewalks, streets and other improvements to revitalize an entire area of the city.
“So we’re pretty excited about that,” he said.
The city owns land where 13 homes once stood in a floodplain known as “The Flats.”
Melfi said that in 2003, summer storms inundated three counties and they, including the city, were declared a disaster area. The city applied for and won a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that allowed it to buy the properties in The Flats if the homeowners wanted to relocate.
Melfi and Rex said the launch, which likely will be built this summer, will help draw people to the city and will be an economic boost to its businesses.
Rex pointed out that Lowellville, which has bike nights in the summer, also has become a popular stop for canoeists and kayakers.
The ODNR also awarded the city $37,000 toward replacing the bridge to the entrance of Liberty Park. The bridge closed last year.
Melfi said that is “a good start,” and the city is seeking more funding sources.
“Because it’s a park, it’s hard to get highway or state dollars,” he said.