Members of Congress are able to submit a very limited number of qualified, local projects to the Appropriations Committee for consideration of targeted federal funds. The full details of the selected request are required to be posted publicly on my website to ensure full transparency. Below you can find all necessary information submitted by a requesting organization.
FY'24
Requestor:
City of Avon, 36080 Chester Road, Avon, Ohio 44011.
Amount of Request:
$1,500,000
Reason for the Request:
The City of Avon is requesting funds to add through and turn lanes and make signal improvements on State Route 254 and on State Route 83. Making these improvements would reduce driver confusion and conflict points by adding through, drop, and turn lanes; updating pavement markings and signage; enhancing interconnected traffic signal systems; and providing emergency vehicle pre-emption. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will help directly address the significant safety and congestion problem that is occurring in Lorain County and the region.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
The Willshire Fire Department, 309 State Street, Willshire, OH 45898
Amount of Request:
$124,500
Reason for the Request:
The Willshire Fire Department is requesting funds for construction of a new fire station to add two new truck bays and modernize services so the department can better serve the community and provide better responses to fires, public hazards, motor vehicle collisions, natural disasters, and injured or trapped citizens. The department currently has difficulty accommodating the modern fire trucks since the original station was built in 1929 and renovated in 1965.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Seneca County Board of Commissioners, 111 Madison Street, Tiffin, Ohio 44883
Amount of Request:
$750,000
Reason for the Request:
The Seneca County Board of Commissioners are seeking funds to construct one of four new Emergency Medical Service stations, which will be strategically located across the county to better serve the public with life-saving assistance. The newly constructed station will be staffed with new full-time first responders and supplemented with volunteers. This station will cut emergency response time of 20 minutes within the rural communities down to 10 minutes, altering the ability to quickly respond and save lives.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
City of Elyria, 131 Court Street, Elyria, OH 44035
Amount of Request:
$2,500,000
Reason for the Request:
The City of Elyria is seeking funds to install sanitary sewer extensions to create a direct pathway for flows from current commercial properties to bypass the residential sewers and pump station. The project would alleviate residential capacity issues and increase the city’s sewer system capacity for future businesses. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will improve the septic and home sewage treatment systems for over 70 homes in the city and will directly benefit commercial development within the Chestnut Ridge area. It will prevent further burdening residents with increased sewer rates and would provide the necessary infrastructure to attract private investment.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Corn City Regional Fire District, 126 E. Main Street, PO Box 31, Deshler, OH 43516
Amount of Request:
$2,977,178
Reason for the Request:
The Corn City Fire District in Deshler, Ohio is seeking funds to construct a new fire department facility and helipad that can service the local community and surrounding Henry, Putnam, Hancock, and Wood counties. It would include the construction of larger truck bays for new modern firetrucks and adequate space for the department’s equipment and personnel. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will expand the capabilities of the community to provide aid to its residents who are in an emergency and cut down on response time in this rural area.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Village of Greenwich, 45 Main Street, Greenwich, OH 44837
Amount of Request:
$2,000,000
Reason for the Request:
The Village of Greenwich is seeking funds to replace the over 75-year-old water treatment plant to improve drinking water quality and increase capacity that is currently limited to only 250,000 gallons per day. The project would specifically replace the high service pump and ion exchange softeners, and improve the clear well and associated valving and controls. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will provide a reliable drinking water source for the Village of Greenwich to ensure the health and safety of its residents are maintained and the community can thrive.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Northwestern Water and Sewer District, 12560 Middleton Pike, Bowling Green, OH 43402
Amount of Request:
$1,670,000
Reason for the Request:
The Northwestern Water and Sewer District is seeking funds to construct and install an extension of sanitary sewer, force main, regional pumping station, lateral service connections to individual homes, and miscellaneous appurtenances to provide a complete, functional sewer system to the community. This project will eliminate pollution to the Lake Erie watershed due to failed septic systems and will benefit Wood County by removing local pollution in area streams. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will have a substantial benefit to the health and safety of the area residents and the Lake Erie watershed.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
City of Lorain Police Department, 200 W Erie Ave, Lorain, OH 44052
Amount of Request:
$931,000
Reason for the Request:
The City of Lorain is seeking funds from the DOJ Byrne Grant to create the SAFER (Staffing Assistance for Effective Retention) Lorain Program, which will provide recruitment and retention resources to keep the Lorain Police Department staffed at 105 sworn officers of its 112 authorized strength, support hiring incentives for six additional officers, and enable Lorain to adopt DOJ best practice approaches for recruitment and retention.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Lorain County Commissioners, 226 Middle Avenue, Elyria, OH 44035
Amount of Request:
$7,000,000
Reason for the Request:
Lorain County is seeking funds to support a new sanitary sewer line from the wastewater treatment plant in Lorain to allow for new sewer tie-ins, reducing septic systems, while supporting future economic development opportunities in Lorain County. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will provide the residents of Lorain with modernized sewer services and will allow for the growth of existing businesses while kickstarting new growth and development opportunities.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency on behalf of City of Elyria. 1299 Superior Ave. E., Cleveland, OH 44114 (NOACA). 131 Court Street, Elyria, OH 44035 (City address).
Amount of Request:
$1,280,000
Reason for the Request:
The Northwest Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency is seeking funding on behalf of the City of Elyria to rehabilitation East Broad Street over the Black River between Bridge Street and East River Street. The work would involve addressing scour issues, the approach, and deck repairs. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will maintain an important bridge that connects downtown Elyria with the eastern side of the Black River and the transportation facilities east of it. It is important to maintain continuity of the local transportation system in this densely populated area.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
The City of Lorain and Mayor Jack Bradley, 200 W. Erie Avenue, Lorain, OH 44502
Amount of Request:
$7,000,000
Reason for the Request:
The City of Lorain is requesting funds through the HUD Economic Development Initiative to support the transformation of 50-acres of long-vacant shipbuilding, steel, and manufacturing sites at the confluence of the Black River and Lake Erie in downtown Lorain. This funding will enable the community to complete infrastructure and public facility construction in order to economically diversify and create 350 direct jobs on the downtown Lake Erie Waterfront. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will remove abandoned industrial, steel, and manufacturing structures to make way for a revitalization project that will increase economic investment in commercial and tourism businesses and create jobs.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
City of Napoleon, 255 West Riverview Avenue, PO Box 151, Napoleon, OH 43545
Amount of Request:
$1,200,000
Reason for the Request:
The City of Napoleon is seeking funds to replace existing cast iron and asbestos-cement water systems with new modernized PVC water main systems. The proposed water main and lead/galvanized service replacements will be completed as a component of a larger roadway reconstruction project. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will help improve the water system’s reliability and resiliency and ensure residents of Napoleon do not experience significant disruptions in their water service. It will also reduce potential exposure to contamination by removing lead and galvanized water piping from the system.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency on behalf of City of North Ridgeville. 1299 Superior Ave. E., Cleveland, OH 44114 (NOACA) 7307 Avon Belden Road, North Ridgeville, OH 44039 (City address).
Amount of Request:
$2,750,000
Reason for the Request:
The Northwest Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency is seeking funding on behalf of the City of North Ridgeville to rehabilitate Sugar Ridge Road between Waterbury Blvd. just to the east of Bender Road for a total of 1.05 miles. It will include new sidewalks and bicycle facilities within the existing right-of-way. This project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will reconstruct an important corridor, including currently non-existent multimodal components, leading into neighboring downtown Elyria, which is the county seat. It would provide continuity of the local transportation system in a densely populated area.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
Requestor:
Village of Grafton, 960 Main Street, Grafton, OH 44044
Amount of Request:
$3,307,812.00
Reason for the Request:
The Village of Grafton is seeking funds to install a new forced sanitary sewer main from Avon Belden Road traveling westerly to the Grafton Sanitary Elm Street transmission line to the Grafton Wastewater Treatment Plant. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it will provide the necessary water utilities to prepare the industrial development of over 800 acres of land so the viability of other development projects will be increased.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
FY'23
Requestor:
Henry County Board of Commissioners, located at 1853 Oakwood Avenue, Napoleon, OH 43545
Amount of Request:
$750,000
Reason for the Request:
The Henry County Board of Commissioners is requesting funds to restore and repair the historic Henry County Courthouse, which is one of the three “Oil Boom Courthouses” of Northwest Ohio. The funding would cover window replacement, tuck-pointing, masonry, and plasterwork related to the windows, as well as further efforts to protect the building from the seepage of water into the structure of the building, thus preventing possible future water damage to the plaster walls, paint, and artwork in the building.
This project will bring skilled labor jobs to Henry County due to the need for stonemasons, plasterers, bricklayers, and glaziers who will be involved in the completion of the project. The project will provide a substantial benefit to the community as this project will provide additional decades of usage in a well-maintained facility to conduct the business of the Judicial Branch of Henry County’s Government, and the functions of the Constitutional Offices that use the Courthouse for their base of operations.
The building is significant to the history of the nation as it is a perfect representation of the energy economic boom of the late 19th Century. It will further the mission to preserve the history of the region as it transitioned from being the natural area of the Black Swamp of Northwestern Ohio to a region of growing communities that are instrumental in the economy in agriculture and industry. Additionally, preservation of the Henry County Courthouse will ensure that the people of Henry County have a suitable place where the furtherance and dispensing of justice will take place.
Signed Certification Letter attached.
FY'22
Community Projects
Letter of Request
Requestor: Bradner Fire Department, located at 130 N. Main Street, Bradner, OH 43406
Amount of Request: $1,580,000
Reason for the Request: The Bradner Fire Department (BFD) is requesting funds to construct a new station on land already secured and surveyed to be able to house all firefighting apparatus with easy access, meet safety codes, and reduce response times to incidents in the community. This project is important to the community and is a valuable use of funds because it will reduce response times to incidents in the community and provide a safe working environment for BFD’s volunteer firefighters. The current building has a poor exhaust system, no showers or decontamination area, no sleeping quarters, one small conference room for meetings and training, no separate room for turnout gear, a small kitchen with basic home-style appliances, no proper storage for apparatus that can cause delays during fire calls, and no accessibility options for handicapped individuals.
Letter of Request
Requestor: Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, located at One Maritime Plaza, 7th Floor, Toledo, OH 43604
Amount of Request: $8,000,000
Reason for the Request: The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority is requesting funds to expand air cargo and other aerospace operations at Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport and upgrade their Instrument Landing System Technology from Category 1 to Category 3 to match the technology available in modern aircraft so that they can operate safely at TOL in conditions with low visibility. These upgrades will provide a safer operating environment during low visibility conditions and will retain and attract aeronautical operations to the airport which require such technology in their airport site selection process. It would positively impact Lucas County, Wood County, Fulton County and all surrounding Counties. The project will entice operational growth and will potentially attract other cargo and aeronautical operations that rely on this technology when deciding what airport to partner with to serve a particular region.
Letter of Request
Requestor: The Village of Grover Hill, located at 104 S Main Street, Grover Hill, OH 45849
Amount of Request: $400,000
Reason for the Request: The Village of Grover Hill, Ohio, is seeking assistance to rehabilitate its entire wastewater collections system that serves all residents in the community. The current system is in critical need of repair. Village residents have separate private wells that are in failing condition and are inadequate. The individual concrete septic tanks will be replaced with new plastic tanks. Other additional work would include the addition of two new manholes, the cleaning and lining of the other manholes, and the rehabilitation of one lift station.The Village of Grover Hill is committed to upgrading its infrastructure to ensure the current quality of life, to promote health and safety and meet current engineering standards. Upgrading vital infrastructure will allow the community to meet current standards by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which issued findings and orders for this project. Ensuring the health and safety of all of our constituents is an essential responsibility of being a Member, and approval of funding for this project will help relieve the burden placed on this small community in Northwest Ohio.
Surface Transportation Projects
Letter of Request
Requestor: Lucas County Transportation Improvement District, located at the US-20A/I-745 interchange in Maumee and Monclova Township in Lucas County, Ohio, 43537.
Amount of Request: $10,000,000.00
Project Description: The funding is designated for the construction of a new interchange at I-475 and 20-A. The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and is anticipated to benefit the community by completing the expansion of a corridor linking the I-475 beltway to US-24. The interchange will provide direct access for over 3 million sq ft of industrial/warehouse space, and 12 million sq ft of commercial/institutional properties, fostering current and future economic development.
