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COLUMBIANA-- As superintendents and representatives from various city departments attended last week's city council meeting, City Manager Lance Willard summarized the 2019 year for the city.
With the Reader's Digest Nicest Place in America award at the forefront of accomplishments, Willard explained that it was a momentum builder for more successful projects. The city's ability to receive grants was the big reason it has implemented a lot of upgrades in 2019.
"I say this each time we get one, but we couldn't get those grants without council getting along," Willard said. "If we don't all work together from here to the county to the state level, we wouldn't get them. We may be taking them for granted now, but it's because we've all worked together to earn them."
The city received close to $2.4 million in grants in 2019 for various projects, including the stormwater project on West Salem Street, the Duquesne sidewalk project, the fountain at Mirror Lake and drug use prevention efforts. Willard also highlighted each departments' accomplishments for the year, referencing the water, wastewater, progress, park and cemetery, electric, street, police, fire and EMS departments.
When Willard revealed the amount of grant money the city has accumulated since 2014, Mayor Bryan Blakeman was amazed at the results. The city's income tax brings in about $2.4 million per year, which would equate to about $14.4 million since 2014. The city has received close to $20.3 million in grants during that time period.
"Every single dollar that taxpayers are paying is being matched in grants," Blakeman said. "We're basically operating three times larger than we are without having to repay them. When we start getting these grants and everyone works so well together, they want to give us more because they know they can trust us, and it's a good investment."
While upgrading the city is significant, maintaining the city is just as important. When Councilman Dick McBane asked what was being done to ensure continuous success, Willard told him about the city's asset management strategy.
"You have to take care of what you have," Willard said. "We sit down and take a look at the age of all the infrastructure and have to have a plan of replacing it. These things aren't going to fix themselves, so we always have to be ready."
The next regularly scheduled council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 3.
slendak@mojonews.com