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County reports high preliminary interest in Lead Safe Ohio program; county to request additional state funds
Summary
Lorain County officials said they have received roughly 65 pre-applications so far for the Lead Safe Ohio program and will ask the Ohio Department of Development for additional funds to serve more households; staff also described contractor outreach and plans to streamline payments and certification.
County officials reported on March 20 that reintroduced enrollment for the Lead Safe Ohio program has generated strong preliminary interest and that staff will seek additional state funds to meet demand.
Why it matters: the Lead Safe Ohio program provides funding and remediation for lead hazards in housing; increased applications can prompt the county to seek more state allocations to serve more households.
County staff said the program manager Kleinfelder received 35 pre-applications and the City of Elyria reported about 30 more, putting the county at “about 65 plus” pre-applications. Staff set a pre-application deadline of March 31 to allow the county to meet a spending deadline that requires work to be completed by Feb. 28, 2026. The county administrator said that on April 1 he plans to ask the Ohio Department of Development for additional funds, noting some counties around Ohio are not spending their allocations and Lorain County could absorb additional funds based on its response.
Staff also addressed contractor outreach. County officials said they have identified roughly 400 contractors that do business with political subdivisions and will host at least two outreach events in mid- to late April to explain qualification and contracting requirements for the program. Staff said they will help contractors who do not immediately qualify by directing them to resources to meet bonding and other requirements.
On payments and timeliness, staff said they are working with the auditor’s office to streamline invoicing and payment processes so contractors are paid on time. The county administrator said this is a priority to keep contractors solvent and retain workers on projects.
Ending: Staff will finalize pre-application numbers after March 31 and report back following outreach events and discussions with the Ohio Department of Development about potential additional funding.
