Lt. Gov. Crouch, OCRA Announce Community Block Grant Recipients

Two communities in Eagle Country were awarded.

Shutterstock photo. 

INDIANAPOLIS – Two communities in Eagle Country are the beneficiaries of Community Development Block Grants. 

Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs today announced 22 rural communities will receive more than $12.5 million in federal grant funding to create and expand community facilities, remove blight and improve water infrastructure.  

The Town of Milan and Ripley County were among the recipients of grants from the Wastewater/Drinking Water Program.

Milan is awarded $700,000 to improve the current water distribution system. The project includes the replacement of a 300,000 gallon standpipe storage tank, and seven sections of water mains, which includes replacement of existing hydrants, valves and water service lines currently served by the existing water mains.

Another $700,000 will go to Ripley County to support a water improvement project. Three water mains will be replaced and a new 250,000 gallon elevated storage tank will be constructed. Other improvements include decommissioning the existing water storage tank, and service line replacements.

The work is expected to improve water pressure and water quality for residents, in addition to decreasing the number of water line breaks in the community.

“Congratulations to each of these 22 communities on being awarded this grant funding,” said OCRA Executive Director Denny Spinner. “Community Development Block Grants can have a transformational impact on a community, and I applaud all those taking advantage of this opportunity.”

A full list of grant recipients is listed below. 

Projects receiving Blight Clearance Program grant funding include:

  • The City of Attica is awarded $500,000 to address several buildings, including 126 N. Perry Street and five contiguous buildings on the east side of 200 S. Perry Street. These buildings, all located in the city’s downtown area, are vacant and blighted with crumbling facades and exterior walls collapsing due to severe structural issues. These issues include failing roof systems, interior asbestos and mold, broken windows, unrepaired vandalism, and growth of vegetation.
  • The City of Logansport is awarded $490,500 to address bighted conditions by demolishing the concrete slab foundation of the Trelleborg site, located at One North General Street in Logansport. The building was originally constructed in the 1940’s as an automobile rubber tire and component manufacturing plant. The building operated as such until 2004. The approximate 234,300 square foot blighted site occupies half of the 11.05 acre property. The project includes removal of the concrete slab, proper disposal of the material, backfill and grade, and returning the lot to a public greenspace and a potential future trailhead.
  • The City of Rushville is awarded $400,000 to address a blighted grain silo that has been vacant for over 20 years, located close to the recently restored downtown area. The main project goal is the removal of the abandoned grain silo located at 337 W. 4th Street to allow for future new housing to be developed in this area, as demonstrated in the Westside Redevelopment Plan. The plan is a partnership between the City of Rushville and the Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation.
  • The Town of Winamac is awarded $252,440 to demolish a former grain elevator, located at 302 South Logan Street. The elevator ceased operations in 2007 and currently poses a risk to the community. The project will include demolition of the primarily concrete and metal structure, removal of debris, and conversion to urban green space.

Projects receiving Stormwater Improvement Program grant funding include:

  • The City of Beech Grove is awarded $600,000 to make improvements to current stormwater infrastructure and improve stormwater drainage into McFarland Creek. This project will reconstruct a failing culvert and provide ditch stabilization, while also reducing stormwater impacts in residential neighborhoods.
  • The City of Lawrence is awarded $600,000 to improve stormwater infrastructure in the Brookhaven neighborhood. There are currently no storm sewers or inlets located on 53 Street or 54 Street and Kercheval Drive. The nearest storm sewer inlets are located at the intersections at the end of the streets. The stormwater pools in roadways, creating a risk to road-users. This project will seek to reduce the current impacts seen as a result of the current stormwater infrastructure.
  • The Town of Rosedale is awarded $600,000 to improve drainage for the eastern half of the town. The project will extend storm sewers from a southeast subdivision, northward through an old railroad corridor to an existing waterway. Inlets and storm sewer extensions will also be provided at some of the key cross-streets to reduce flooding and infiltration into the wastewater system.
  • West Terre Haute is awarded $600,000 to expand stormwater infrastructure into low-lying areas. The project will increase drainage capacity and improve the conveyance of flows by installing stormwater pipe, inlets and manholes to allow stormwater to be re-directed to existing trunklines. This will prevent stormwater from entering public roadways, sidewalks, residences and the town’s wastewater system.
  • The Town of Argos is awarded $700,000 to support the completion of a water utility improvement project. The project will extend the useful life of the town’s existing water towers, thereby helping to sustain water pressure and fire protection throughout the entire service area. In addition, the water main improvements will decrease the number of water outages and boil orders throughout the entire community.
  • The Town of Chalmers is awarded $700,000 to make improvements to current water utilities. The project includes replacing all home meters, replacing the filter media and aeration media at the water plant, rehabilitating the water tower with minor repairs, adding a new potable water well, raw water line, and replacing an existing 6 inch water main.
  • The Town of Fowler is awarded $513,500 to conduct a water system rehabilitation project. The project will focus on making improvements to current infrastructure, including well house demolition and reconstruction, detention tank rehabilitation, water garage, chemical storage building demolition and reconstruction, water tower rehabilitation, new fire hydrants, new fire hydrant isolation valves, and new water main valves.
  • The City of Ligonier is awarded $700,000 to complete a wastewater treatment plant improvement project. This project involves extensive rehabilitation work at the existing plant site, located at 305 Bridge Street. The project centers around several malfunctioning mechanical components within the wastewater treatment plant that diminishes the city’s ability to adequately treat the raw wastewater before being discharged into the Elkhart River. The project will look to make long-term sustainable improvements to the current system.
  • The Town of Milton is awarded $700,000 to support a water improvement The project includes installing new water mains, new tower radio communications, valves, meters and a bulk loading station. The overall goal of project is to improve the water quality for residents and reduce the high rate of watermain breaks currently being experienced in the community.
  • The Town of Rockville is awarded $700,000 to make improvements to their water treatment and distribution system. The improvements include the rehabilitation of the well pump, installation of LED lightings, a new moisture control system and filter tanks at the water treatment plant, and replacement of the electronic Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system. The project will help alleviate service disruptions to residents.
  • The Town of Upland is awarded $700,000 to build a new north lift station and demolish the old lift station, increasing capacity to prevent sanitary sewer overflows. The town will also install 3,265 linear feet of 12 inch force main and three manholes. The project will make the necessary improvements to mitigate overflows and provide adequate flow for residents.
  • The Town of Williamsport is awarded $700,000 to improve the existing water distribution and storage system. This project includes the installation of numerous watermains, fire hydrants and valve replacements, while also completing restoration of an elevated water storage tank. This project aims to improve water pressure in fire hydrants throughout the community, reduce water loss from current water main infrastructure, and increase the elevated water storage tank by an additional 15 years.

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