Midwest City council authorizes application for ACOG economic resiliency grant to study NE 23rd Street corridor

Midwest City Council voted to authorize staff to apply for an Association of Central Oklahoma Governments (ACOG) economic resiliency grant to study the Northeast 23rd Street corridor, with a city budgeted local match of $3,000 if the grant is awarded.

The resolution gives staff permission to submit the grant application; it is not a commitment of the local match until the grant is awarded. City presenters said the study would focus mostly on the Midwest City side of the corridor and would examine land use, streetscapes and beautification opportunities across city limits. The presentation named potential collaboration with the city of Spencer and Oklahoma County but said there is no current agreement obligating those jurisdictions to share the match.

Council members questioned whether Spencer and Oklahoma County would contribute equally to the local match; staff said Spencer had received a separate improvement grant the prior year and would not be eligible to participate in this particular match. Staff also said city funds are already budgeted for the project, so if the grant is awarded the council likely would not need to return for additional appropriations but would still be required to authorize release of the match at that time.

A motion to approve the programming resolution received a second and was put to voice vote; the chair called for “aye,” received affirmative responses, and the motion carried. The action authorizes submittal of the ACOG application; if the application is successful staff will return to council to accept the award and release the local match funds.

The council packet included an executive summary of the proposed study. Staff said the full grant application and scope will be provided to council and made available to the public if the application proceeds to award.