By Amanda Amsel
Staff Writer
Franklin Township recently received some much needed good news that would result in thousands of dollars in township savings.
At a recent board meeting, Franklin Township Road Supervisor Jim Stevens announced that the township received an $80,000 grant to pave roads affected by the Eastfield and Westfield Water Line Improvement Project. The township received the grant through the Franklin County Economic, Development and Planning Department.
“The Franklin County Community Development Block Grant will allow us to repave the part of the road Columbus was not going to be able to do,” Stevens said. “Originally the township was going to have to pay around $113,000 to do this, now we will only have to pay around $34,000.”
A stipulation of the grant is that the township has to partially match funds, leaving a remaining $34,000 the township will be responsible for paying for.
The Eastfield and Westfield project is a water improvement project in the township that residents have been asking for years. Old city water lines will be replaced in the subdivisions with new ones, resulting in more efficient water service.
“After the water lines are replaced, the city said they would be responsible for repaving one lane of all the roads and Franklin Township is responsible for paving the other lane,” Stevens said. “These roads were in bad shape anyway, so the township agreed to pay to repave them.
However, with this grant we can still repave them and save around $80,000.”
Stevens expects that the project will not be complete until the end of May or June and expects paving to start then.
This grant is just one of many grants Stevens is currently applying for on behalf of the township. Recently, he received the nickname of the “Grant King” as a result of all the grants he is proactively applying for to benefits Franklin Township.
“Times are tight right now,” Stevens said. “We recently had to let someone go in our department, so we are just trying to live within our means. If I can find grants that help us do that then that is exactly what I am going to do.”
