WAPAKONETA, OH (WLIO) - As the Auglaize County Commissioners wrap up 2022, they are looking ahead to starting some projects that they have been working on this past year. Thanks to a $900,000 grant from the State of Ohio, Auglaize County was able to remove some blighted structures so the land can be used for redevelopment. Plus, they have been getting some things in place to start a renovation project at the county jail. The roughly $5 million project will add more bed space to the facility, especially on the women’s side of the jail.
“We have applied for a matching grant from the state, so we are hoping to hear something on that,” says Commissioner David Bambauer. “We are going to try and figure out how we are going to fund that renovation, but that is definitely one project that is going to move forward.”
The Commissioners are also finalizing what they are going to do with the nearly nine million dollars in federal money they got from the American Rescue Plan Act. They are waiting to see what other grants the state is offering before they hand out seven million dollars to some capital projects at different places in Auglaize County. The rest of the federal money will be going to townships and municipalities.
“And the pot for the municipalities and the townships is like $1.8 million is what is going to go there,” adds Bambauer. “A lot of the townships are going to use it to help with their road maintenance. The municipalities have water projects, street projects, all kinds of different things that they want and need help with. That hopefully, that money will help them get those projects completed.”
The commissioners are also finalizing their 2023 budget, which will be passed in the first part of the next year.
