Officials discuss FEC funding
REDSTONE TWP. – A public hearing was held Wednesday for the 10th and most likely final year of funding for Redstone Township under the Federal Enterprise Community program. Ralph Rice, chairman of the supervisors, said the township would most likely apply for funding for a T-ball field at Redstone Park built to Shetland and Pinto League specifications. Rice estimated that it would cost $10,000 to build the T-ball field.
There were no members of the public present at the hearing to provide input or to propose additional projects. According to Denise King, acting FEC manager for the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, the U.S. Department of Agriculture grants can be used for direct educational projects in the schools, indirect education and economic/workforce development projects or human service and community development projects.
“The main purpose is to get people out of poverty and to improve their quality of life,” King said of the program.
King said the FEC program initially provided $250,000 in grants to five targeted communities in Fayette County. The designated municipalities are Redstone, Menallen, Dunbar and portions of Uniontown and Connellsville, based on census information on poverty. King said this is the final year of the 10-year program, though the program could be extended for a year for ongoing projects to be completed. There is $80,000 available for grants this year.
King said all grant applications must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8. The applications will be scored and the top 50 percent of the applicants will be invited to present their proposals.
Projects previously funded in Redstone Township include renovations to the former FGA Building and development of a business incubator in Republic, the purchase of external automatic defibrillators for the five fire departments serving the township, rehabilitation of the former Pleasant Valley School in Filbert and improvements at Redstone Park.
The FEC grants require local matching funds and cannot be used to match other federal grants.
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