MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on March 24 to review federal grant opportunities and projects for program year 2026.
Jillian Flowers of CDC of Ohio, the county’s grant consultant, said 51% of the grants must benefit low- to moderate-income income households.
More than $3.6 million is available to Knox County. However, potential projects from Danville, Brinkhaven, Martinsburg, and the City of Mount Vernon fall primarily into four categories.
CDBG Allocation Program. Under the CDBG Allocation Program, Knox County is guaranteed $156,000, provided it submits eligible projects.
CDBG Neighborhood revitalization grant. Neighborhood revitalization grants provide up to $750,000 on a project that undertakes several activities in an LMI neighborhood. CDC would receive $50,000 for administration, with $700,000 going for construction costs.
Flowers said the neighborhood revitalization program is the most labor-intensive because it requires public assistance.
“In a lot of the communities, we do at least six public meetings. We feel that’s necessary because we have to demonstrate that the community led this effort and that this is their project,” she said.
Residential Public Infrastructure Grant (RPIG). The RPIG grant provides up to $750,000 to fund large-scale water and sanitary sewer programs. It requires a 50% local match.
Critical Infrastructure Grant. Critical infrastructure provides up to $500,000 for projects such as a failing utility system or a bridge replacement to enhance safety response.
“It has to be very clear what the criticality is in that,” Flowers said.
CDC will receive $30,000 for administration; $470,000 goes toward project costs.
Berlin Township ADA improvement project
Township Trustee James T. DeChant said the township house serves as a polling location. It has a 70-foot-long wood ADA ramp that serves as the main entrance to the facility.
DeChant said the trustees plan to do the demolition in-house and seek grant funding to redo the wood frame of the ramp, as well as add composite decking to the top and rails.
Additionally, the front entrance is the original block and is experiencing fracturing.
“It had a wood structure basically built over top of it in the past to kind of kick that life expectancy a little bit further down the road, but we’ve kicked the can too long it’s time we got to do something there.”
DeChant estimates the front porch will cost around $25,000 and the ramp about $15,000.
Flowers said it is a strong project to move forward because, although it does not meet LMI guidelines, it is critical to ADA compliance. The state would also favor it because it is a polling location.
Danville infrastructure
Mayor Joe Mazzari said the village is extending its water line south down Market Street. He expects to reach the bridge this summer.
The village would use new grant funds to replace approximately 110 sanitary lines (laterals) between the main line and residents’ homes that are causing backup into the homes.
Mazzari said the laterals also have significant I&I (inflow and infiltration) issues. I&I causes the sewer plant to treat rainwater that does not need treatment.
“The EPA is requiring us to have a plan to alleviate that,” Mazzari said.
Additionally, the mayor said many residents walk or push strollers to the convenience stores on the south end of town.
“There’s not really safe travel. A lot of it is being traveled now on the roadway because the sidewalks aren’t finished down through there,” Mazzari said.
Mazzari said community meetings reveal a theme of street improvements, sidewalks, and potentially parks and recreation.
Mount Vernon partnership
The city has applied for an Ohio Public Works Commission grant for a Crystal Avenue waterline project.
“It is their hope that we could partner on that project [on a residential public infrastructure grant]. We would find out if that’s funded this spring. But one is dependent on the other,” Flowers said.
Martinsburg
The Village of Martinsburg has also applied for an OPWC grant for Phase 3 of its water improvements.
Flowers said she would likely look for critical infrastructure funding in Round 2 funds, which would be either after June or next year.
County Administrator Jason said the county is interested in ensuring secure water infrastructure because, without official village leaders, the county could ultimately become responsible for water and sewer in the village.
The state does not cap the county on how much funding it can receive. However, Flowers said the type of project and the time required to complete it are critical.
“You can only have three critical infrastructure projects open at a time. You can only have two neighborhood projects at a time. When we complete these jobs, we need to get them monitored and closed out to open spaces for new projects,” she said.
“Currently we don’t have any neighborhood projects. We do have two criticals, so we would have a space for 1 more. And you could do, in theory, do two neighborhoods at a time in a community. However, the state has made it very clear you’ll only get one.”
Low- to moderate-income drives eligibility
Knox County is 59% LMI overall. According to census data, Brinkhaven, Danville, and Martinsburg are LMI communities. Brown, Clinton, and Howard (excluding Apple Valley) townships are LMI.
However, if a census tract believes it qualifies as an LMI tract, it can conduct an income survey.
Census data showed Danville as 43.20% LMI. However, Danville completed an income survey in 2024, and the state certified it as 60.9% LMI based on the data.
Similarly, Brinkhaven was 25% LMBI according to census data. However, the village also completed an income survey and was certified as 60.29% LMI.
Both certifications are good for five years.
“So if you see the village of Danville coming up over and over again, we’re trying to maximize what they can do in that five years that they’re certified before they have to research again,” Flowers explained.
“And then also Brinkhaven … good for five years, so we would like to maximize how much can be done there.”
Percentages for county municipalities have a plus/minus range of 2.9% to 43%.
“When you see a lot of these numbers that you may disagree with, it’s probably because people didn’t fill out the census,” Flowers said.
Other grant opportunities
Several other grants are available to Knox County for PY26. However, it is unlikely the county will apply.
•Economic development grant — up to $500,000 to provide on-site or infrastructure improvements to businesses that commit to jobs for low to moderate-income persons. The county typically does not apply for this grant because other local development partners do.
•Target of opportunity grant — up to $250,000 for projects that do not fit other grant programs.
•Community Housing Impact Preservation Program — up to $750,000 in partnership with the City of Mount Vernon to undertake private rehabilitation, home repairs, and tenant-based rental assistance programs.
The county is not considering applying for a CHIP grant.
The commissioners scheduled a second public hearing on June 2 at 10 a.m. to discuss the specific projects the county will apply for.
The CDBG allocation and neighborhood revitalization applications are due June 10.
All other applications are due during an open cycle beginning July 1, until funds run out.