Local funds will be used to cover part of the cost of some preliminary work on the Ottaray Village Renaissance Project.
In a report to the Union County Council’s Committee on Administration and Finance, Supervisor Tommy Sinclair said that $25,000 in C-Funds had been allocated to cover some of the preliminary engineering but the actual cost had exceeded the allocation by approximately $2,000.
Sinclair said the C-Funds will not cover the cost in excess of the allotted amount so local funds will have to be used to do so. He said the money will come from the county’s professional services fund.
This was met Tuesday with the approval of the committee which directed Sinclair to proceed with allocating the professional services funds to cover the balance of the cost.
The Village Renaissance Project for the Ottaray community is a three-phase project designed to revitalize the community with funding secured from the Department of Commerce’s Village Renaissance program.
The program promotes sustainability and conservation by improving infrastructure, physical appearance, public facilities, property values, safety and neighborhood pride.
The Ottaray project involves $1 million worth of improvements funded by two separate $500,000 Community Development Block Grants.
Phase I of the project was the planning portion which provided the information needed for the grant application to secure funding for Phase II. Phase II involves storm drainage improvements, sewer line improvements, demolition of some derelict structures, and installation of neighborhood signage.
These will be mainly concentrated in the Second Street and Third Street areas of Ottaray. Phase III involves sewer line and storm drainage improvements but will mainly be concentrated in the Fourth Street area of Ottaray.
Sinclair described the Ottary Village Renaissance Project as “a total aspect of growing Union.”
By Charles Warner, Staff Reporter with The Union Daily Times