Dunkirk to seek grants

DUNKIRK — The city will take part in two grant applications funded by federal coronavirus relief money this summer.

At its meeting Monday, Dunkirk City Council agreed to join a seven-county regional application for economic development funds and gave its OK for Mayor Jack Robbins to apply for utility infrastructure funding.

Travis Richards, executive director of Jay County Development Corporation, told council members about the Regional Economic Accelerator Development Initiative, a $500 million grant program that will fund up to $50 million each for projects to regions around the state. The program requires four local dollars for each state dollar, with three of those dollars coming from private sources.

“It’s not as lucrative as some of the other grant opportunities, but when you’re talking the tune of $50 million for a region it can still translate into a lot of money,” Richards said. “The purpose of the program is to really help create private investment to bring talent into the region and to drive economic growth.”

Jay County has agreed to join Grant, Blackford, Randolph, Wayne, Henry and Delaware counties in applying for the money as a region. Jay County Commissioners this month approved using $30,000 in economic development income tax funds to pay for Jay County’s portion of the planning and administration costs for the grant application.

Richards told council that the program could help the city with renovations to Dunkirk Public Library or repurposing the Westlawn Elementary School building. The region at large will likely be interested in housing, early childhood education and workforce development, he added.

“It can be pretty much anything that fits in there that’s going to help drive population growth, talent attraction and economic development,” Richards said.

Council approved a resolution agreeing to take part in the grant application. (The document does not include any financial commitments.) The region’s plan is due Aug. 31, with the state to decide how it will allocate the money by the end of the year.

Council also approved Robbins’ request to fill out a State Water Infrastructure Fund grant application.

The program has $100 million designated for funding wastewater, water and stormwater projects throughout the state, up to $5 million per project. According to engineering firm Beam, Longest and Neff’s five-year plan for the city, Dunkirk’s utility projects are estimated to cost $810,000.

Also on Monday, council approved the final schedule of events for the Independence Day celebration on July 3. The parade throughout the city will start at noon, with Tim McCaffery as grand marshal. Line-up will begin at 11 a.m. There will be a flag-raising ceremony at 1 p.m. at Dunkirk City Park, with the car show and games beginning at 2 p.m.

Lutheran Air will land its medical helicopter at 3 p.m., and there will be bingo from 4 to 6 p.m. at West Jay Community Center. John Beatrice Band will play from 7 to 9 p.m., and fireworks are slated to start around 10 p.m.

Throughout the day, there will be several food vendors and craft booths, along with games for kids and adults, and a 50-50 drawing.

In other business, council members Jesse Bivens, Tom Johnson, Bryan Jessup, Christy Curts and Kevin Hamilton:

•Updated three ordinances, including designating a $750 yearly line item for travel expenses for the pension secretary, amending the trash pickup fee to reflect the actual monthly cost of $11.41 per month, changing the dishonored check fee from $10 to $27.50 and clarifying that department heads may approve purchases up to $500 and that council members overseeing departments may approve purchases of up to $1,000.

•Paid claims of $244,917.19.

•At Dunkirk Board of Works and Public Safety’s meeting, members Dan Watson, Bivens and Robbins approved purchasing a 61-inch Ferris commercial mower from K & L Tractor Sales for $10,900 for the wastewater department. They also decided to budget for a dump truck for the sewage department in 2022 and approved a series of claims: $5,327 to Culy Contracting for work in the alley behind city hall, $5,234.40 to Safety Systems for lights and stickers for the new police vehicle, $1,043 to A1 Graphics for 26 banners, $3,992.54 to Vore’s Welding and Steel Inc. for repairs to Dunkirk City Pool’s diving board, $605.20 to Gary James to install air conditioning at the pool, $570 to Barnes Sewer for portable toilets for the Independence Day celebration, $122 to Menards for supplies and $18 to Hoosier Microbiological Laboratory.