| INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 11, 2021) – The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs today announced it is awarding 13 planning grants totaling more than $818,000 to communities to develop a specific plan to implement community and economic development projects.”Planning grants are invaluable tools that can help rural communities properly shape and prepare their vision for improving the quality of life for its residents,” said Denny Spinner, Executive Director of OCRA. “I applaud the foresight by the local leaders and residents taking the time to plan for these significant investments within their communities.”The State of Indiana distributes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to rural communities to assist units of local government with various community projects. Planning grants are one type of grants offered through OCRA’s CDBG Program.”This funding will allow communities to make important investments to enhance the local quality of life,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch. “Planning grants can lead to big differences as rural Indiana looks to support local infrastructure.”The Planning Grant Program strives to encourage communities to plan for long-term community development with the aid of subject matter experts and community input. The applications being funded this quarter are aiming to address water infrastructure and comprehensive community planning.Water Infrastructure grants allow communities to take a holistic view of potential issues and opportunities across the drinking, waste and stormwater infrastructure. By completing this planning, communities will be able to make decisions regarding the most urgent water needs while understanding how each system works in context with other utility systems. The nine communities are awarded the following grants:The City of Crawfordsville is awarded $60,000;The Town of Camden is awarded $58,500;The Town of Holton is awarded $60,000;The Town of Lynn is awarded $85,325;The Town of Mulberry is awarded $58,320;The Town of Seelyville is awarded $60,000;The Town of Spencer is awarded $60,000;The Town of Swazyee is awarded $90,000; andThe Town of West Lebanon is awarded $87,300.Comprehensive Planning grants are designed to aid communities in assessing assets and identify opportunities to address current needs. Each comprehensive plan includes a holistic view and potential opportunities to improve in the following areas: land use, government capacity, public services, placemaking, economic development, housing, transportation, agriculture, natural resources, broadband access and historic resources. The four communities are awarded the following grants:The City of Alexandria is awarded $50,000;The City of Elwood is awarded $50,000;The City of North Vernon is awarded $50,000; andThe City of Tell City is awarded $49,500.Planning Grant applications are accepted on a quarterly basis. Based on the number of Planning Grant applications funded for the first quarter of 2021, funds will not be available to open applications for the second quarter. For more information, visit in.gov/ocra/cdbg. |