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Urbancrest to pursue green grants
(by Dedra Cordle, Staff Writer - January 06, 2010)
If Kenneth Skeaton has his way, the village of Urbancrest could be seeing a lot of green in the future.
While giving his health and safety report during the Jan. 5 council meeting, Skeaton spoke of two federal grant initiatives he would like to see the village pursue.
The first initiative is the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) Pathways Out of Poverty Grant and the second initiative is the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.
"Pathways Out of Poverty is for individuals who may not have made all the right choices, such as dropping out of high school," Skeaton said. "This program would provide the tools for these individuals to gain the necessary skills to seek employment within the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries."
Skeaton recommended partnering with the Southwest Community Center YMCA, who he says currently offer several programs that are within the grant's target applicant eligibility criteria.
He also recommended forming a committee of council members, the mayor and representatives from the YMCA to serve as the grant steering committee.
As for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, Skeaton says it would "provide funding for energy improvements to the village." He added they could pursue the upgrade of street lighting and other infrastructures throughout the village, and could pursue grant funding to assists residents with performing home improvements such as improving existing heating and cooling units, upgrading thermostats, and insulating and sealing air leaks.
"I believe these are two programs worth looking into," he said.
Election results confusion
Due to a numerical error on the Nov. 3 ballot, former Urbancrest mayor Marlin West was not elected to a council seat, said council member Christine Bailey.
According to the Franklin County Board of Elections Web site, the official winners of the election were incumbents Bailey, Shawn Moore and Kenneth Skeaton, while the fourth seat will be held by newcomer Abdi Issa. Issa won with 13.94 percent of the vote, compared to West's 13.08 percent.
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