Feds award Eastgate Regional Council of Governments $210K grant

YOUNGSTOWN — The U.S. Economic Development Administration today awarded a $210,000 grant to the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments.

The money will go toward developing and implementing a comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) that will serve as a road map for diversifying and strengthening the regional economy in Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties.

“This investment will help ensure Northeast Ohio communities have the resources they need to help local businesses expand and attract jobs to the area,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat.

The CEDS process is designed to bring together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic development plan for the region, Brown said.

The EDA awarded a $600,000 grant to Eastgate on June 27 to develop and implement a strategy to help the region respond to the idling of the General Motors complex in Lordstown. That grant will be matched with $150,000 in local investments.