County creates $2.35M small-community grant program and backs Amtrak rolling-stock purchases

Williams County commissioners on April 7 approved a new Royal Community Grant Program and authorized a letter supporting federal action on Amtrak rolling stock.

County staffer Lindsay presented the new grant program, which will use proceeds from the county’s extended 1% sales tax quality-of-life allocation. The program sets aside $2.35 million across two years: $350,000 available for expenditure in 2026 and $2 million to be allocated for 2027. Eligible applicants in the 2026 pool are cities, city park districts and townships or communities with populations of 5,000 or fewer; nonprofit community-service organizations may be eligible for funds allocated to 2027. The program will prioritize community gathering spaces (new or improved) and recreational facilities. Applications open the week following the meeting and the county finance committee will serve as the review committee with final allocations approved by the commission.

On a separate item Lindsay presented a request from the High Speed Rail Alliance to send a letter urging Congress and the U.S. Department of Transportation to accelerate orders for new long-distance rail cars (the Empire Builder was cited as an example of a route using older equipment). The board voted to approve a letter of support and authorized the chairman to sign.

Both actions were approved without county-appropriated funding beyond the reallocation of already-authorized sales-tax quality-of-life funds for the grant program. Staff will publish the grant application and review timeline and return to the commission with recommended awards and any required contract documents for funded projects.