Port Authority Discusses ‘Technical Assistance’ Grant

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Zanesville Muskingum County Port Authority meets monthly to discuss ways to increase and improve area commerce and Port Authority Executive Director Matt Abbott took a moment to highlight some of the topics that were deliberated.

“Today we were able to update the board, you know the commissioners on the progress that the steering committee is making on the Appalachian Community Grant,” Abbott said. “So we have received a little over $200,000 dollars in technical assistance. And we’re going through that process now, as far as technical assistance in vetting projects that were submitted to our steering committee from various agencies and groups within the community.”

The Appalachian Community Grant is provided by the state to all of the 32 Appalachian counties in Ohio. The grant was designed to cover three areas of needs: infrastructure, healthcare and workforce. 

“Yeah, we’re going through this process with consultants,” Abbott said. “We have a heavy focus on downtown revitalization here in Zanesville and also some of our villages that have submitted applications as well. So we feel that we have a good, good starting point and we’re working through this period. And really at the end of the day the ultimate goal is to submit a successful development application that can lead to really some transformational programs, transformational facilities that will attract people.”

The Appalachian Community Grant employs a new list of criteria that grant seekers must meet to receive funding, and the Port Authority is working with state and regional agencies to determine the intricacies of the grant’s stipulations that are intended to promote collaboration and networking between various communities with similar circumstances throughout Appalachia.