OMEGA meets with Muskingum Co. Commissioners

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- The Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA) met with the Muskingum County Commissioners Monday morning.

OMEGA serves 10 counties in Eastern Ohio, specifically helping Muskingum County with grant fund assistance for various economic development projects.

OMEGA Executive Director, Jeannette Wierzbicki, said the membership of the commissioners is crucial for project funding.

“Muskingum County pays dues based upon population that covers the entire county so that if townships, villages, volunteer fire departments, those type of organizations need funding assistance they can reach out directly to us and we can provide that assistance for them,” said Wierzbicki.

OMEGA assisted the City of Zanesville in applying for funds from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in years past. Some of those being familiar community projects such as improvements at Kidzville as well as new pickleball courts.

“It not only allows us to help the communities in the county, it also makes the county and the communities within that county eligible for funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission and as well as the Governor’s Office of Appalachia,” said Wierzbicki.

She said that since the Appalachian Regional Commission’s inception in the late 1960’s, Muskingum County has received almost $12 million in grant funding.

Wierzbicki said that in President Trump’s proposed federal budget, he aims to defund the Appalachian Regional Commission; a main asset for the area.