Redkey receives funding

Redkey made the cut to receive state funding for road construction next year. Jay County’s other applicants did not.

Redkey was awarded $75,000 in road improvement grant money through the Community Crossing program. Jay County, Portland and Dunkirk all submitted proposals, but were not awarded funding.

A press release Wednesday from Indiana Department of Transportation announced 396 cities, towns and counties that will receive more than $180 million in matching grant funds from the state. A total of 467 communities applied for the money this year, making Jay County, Portland and Dunkirk part of the 71 left without any grant funding.

Redkey was awarded $75,000 in 75-25 matching funds from the program. The money will be used to repave 10 sections of streets that have been damaged during this year’s ongoing sewer separation project.

Redkey Town Council president Doug Stanley expressed his relief at the news of the grant money being awarded.

“We’re thrilled. My first thought was that after our construction and sewer separation project, one of the biggest concerns we all had here were the roads,” Stanley said. “We haven’t done very much paving in Redkey for many years because our budget just doesn’t permit it anymore.”

The town-wide sewer separation work has left streets in disrepair.

“We’ve been helped enormously over the last few years … Good things are happening,” said Stanley, noting that Redkey was awarded a $30,000 comprehensive downtown planning grant from Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs in July. “With the planning grant downtown to revitalize the town and now this road funding, things are starting to look up here. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to say that.”

For Dunkirk and Portland, paving projects will have to be reassessed or set aside after missing out on funding.

Portland had requested nearly $1 million in funding to pave and extend the road at the city’s industrial park north of county road 100 North.

Dunkirk had planned on retroactively paying for road paving that has already been completed in the city, including Hoover, Center, North, Franklin and Meridian streets. The city footed the entire $96,000 bill for the paving, in the hopes it would receive the grant and be able to use that money as the city’s match. The result would have been $278,000 in additional road funding.

Dunkirk City Council member Jack Robbins was disappointed that the city didn’t receive funding, but hopes that means Dunkirk will have a better chance in its next application.

“Well, what I gather is this is an ongoing thing up till 2024. What’s gonna happen is we’ll just apply again for next year. That’s the only thing I know we can do right now,” Robbins said. “Hopefully we get drawn next year. Maybe our luck will change next time.”

A pair of applications from Jay County — one for new roads in Portland’s industrial park, and the other for rebuilding Boundary Pike from the Portland city limits to county road 300 East and Mount Pleasant Road from county road 200 South to New Mount Pleasant — also did not receive funding.

Jay County Community Development director Ami Huffman said she hopes to get feedback from INDOT about the projects that were not chosen for funding, to help increase the odds next year.

“It may simply be that there was only so much money,” said Huffman. “There’s also a round out now that’s due in late November for 2023 projects. I’m going to check with everyone and see if it’s possible to roll their project into a 2023 call.”

Last year, Portland, Dunkirk and Redkey all received a Community Crossings grants. The largest — $239,000 — went to Portland for repaving Industrial Park Drive as well as Wayne Street between Water and Lincoln streets. Dunkirk got $56,342.75 for work on Grand and Broad streets, and Redkey received $44,096.12. Jay County didn’t apply in 2016 because it hadn’t completed its asset management plan, a requirement to be considered for funding.