Gov. DeWine and Lt. Gov. Husted Announce Proposal for Appalachian Development
MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio – The Lt. Governor paid Muskingum County a visit Thursday to discuss the Ohio BUILDS Plan.
The proposal was rolled out in front of community leaders, while he broke down the targets and budget.
The plan is focusing on restoring historic downtowns, improving community health, and rebuilding the local workforce.
Husted says that he and the Governor plan to refresh suffering communities.
“It is $500 million that will be invested in the Appalachian mountain region, for revitalization efforts. 50 million will go towards planning, $450 million for implementation that could include everything,” he says.
The Ohio Department of Development has invested more than $472 million in Appalachia Ohio to improve infrastructure, expand broadband access, and boost development
Husted also mentioned that communities are encouraged and incentivized when they work together to apply.
“In those 32 counties, it’ll be a competitive process where communities will have to apply. They get more, they have the potential to get more money if they collaborate on issues because we know that collaboration is extremely important, creating community buy-in and making these projects sustainable,” he told us.
Funding for this proposal does still need to be approved before it is available.
The program will be part of Governor DeWine’s Ohio BUILDS Initiative, which focuses on supporting targeted solutions that impact quality of life, such as water infrastructure improvements, broadband expansion, brownfield redevelopment, the demolition of blighted buildings, and more.
