East Canton council hires Nana Riggs as grant writer for waterline replacement; fee capped at $1,200

The East Canton Village Council voted to hire Nana Riggs as the municipality’s official grant writer for a proposed waterline replacement project and authorized a contract with a grant-writing fee not to exceed $1,200 for writing and submission. During discussion, Riggs described a flat-fee model for preparing and submitting the federal grant application and said any additional post-award paperwork or engineering tasks could incur separate fees depending on what the grant will allow. “For writing the grant and submitting the grant is going to be a flat fee,” she said, adding that if the grant award requires follow-up work, there "may be a separate fee for that." The council’s motion specified the fee would not exceed $1,200. Council members and Riggs discussed the likely federal funding source — congressional directed spending — and possible involvement of USDA or other agencies. Riggs said congressional directed spending awards are publicly visible and that projects she reviewed included water-line replacements and other infrastructure items; she reported receiving an invitation for a meeting with congressional staff to discuss possible funding. Riggs advised the council that applications for the program typically become available in February or March, and that congressional and presidential approvals generally play out through the summer, with awards and post-award processes continuing into the following year. She told council members the village should prepare an engineering scope and cost estimates and be ready to put the work out to bid, but that a full set of finalized construction plans may not be required at the application stage. The council and Riggs also discussed project phasing and match requirements. Riggs said matching requirements vary by program and population measures; she recommended the council consider phase size and the village’s willingness to meet any required match before choosing a request amount. Ending The contract language and any additional fee arrangements will be drafted and returned to council for final execution. Riggs requested support letters and referral letters from local contacts, which she said would strengthen the application.