Hocking County holds second public hearing, approves documents to apply for 2025 CDBG funding

Hocking County commissioners on Thursday held a second public hearing required for the county’s 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application and voted to approve three routine application documents required by the state.

A county staff member read the public notice into the record, describing the projects under consideration for inclusion in the county’s application to the Ohio Department of Development. The projects named in the notice were a City of Logan Neighborhood Revitalization Grant (NRG) with an estimated total project cost of $787,600 (including $700,000 for construction, $50,000 administration and a $37,600 allocation match); a Village of Laurelville critical infrastructure grant with an estimated total project cost of $582,405 (including $470,000 for construction, $30,000 administration and an $82,400 allocation match); and an application for the larger CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization Grant program for up to $750,000.

The staff member said the Laurelville project focused on flood and drainage work in a downtown area — including about 16 catch basins and roughly 1,000 feet of piping — and that Logan’s project would include sidewalk and drainage work on Third Street (the exact extents pending final cost estimates). The county also listed $30,000 for administration and fair housing activities in the application fund totals and noted that the county is eligible for an annual formula allocation of $150,000 for CDBG projects.

Why it matters: CDBG funds are federal dollars administered by the state for local community development. Projects funded through the program must meet a national objective, typically benefiting low- and moderate-income residents; the county’s application materials state these projects were selected to meet that objective.

After the hearing, the board voted to approve and sign three application documents required by the state: the environmental review certificate, the residential anti-displacement and relocation assistance plan, and the authorizing resolution (the document authorizing submission of the application on county letterhead). The staff member said the anti-displacement plan would likely not be triggered for the listed street, sidewalk and drainage work but is required as part of the application package.

The motion to approve and sign the documents was made and seconded, and commissioners voted in favor. No detailed roll-call vote was recorded for that motion in the transcript.

Clarifying details and next steps: The staff member said final construction extents for the Logan Third Street work depend on complete cost estimates still pending from the city and consultant; Church Street remains a possibility but the city had applied for other grants that may cover that work. The Laurelville drainage work description in the record referenced the downtown area and an approximate count of catch basins and piping length; exact engineering scopes will be resolved in later design and bidding stages.

Documents related to the application — the environmental review, the anti-displacement/relocation plan and the authorizing resolution — were placed on the meeting agenda for signature and approved by the board so the county can submit its 2025 CDBG application to the Ohio Department of Development.

The county staff member told commissioners three application documents did not require immediate signatures at the dais and could be routed through general business and mailed when signed; the board approved moving forward with signature and submission steps.