A local non-profit is receiving $110,000 in federal block grant money to refurbish an abandoned building on Union Street.
Habitat for Humanity will be using the funds, which ultimately come from the federal government’s housing and urban development money, to restore 309 W. Union, the site of the Old Lucky Dog Carry-Out, said Glen Crippen of Hocking, Athens, Perry Community Action.
“We take reusable buildings, we clean them up, and we sell them for 50 percent or less,” said Ken Oehlers, the director of Athens’ Habitat for Humanity. “We take the profit from that and build Habitat houses.”
Habitat must close the deal by Jan. 31, or else the deal could fall through.
“”If we don’t close by then, there is a chance we could have to re-negotiate or re-finance,” said. Crippen.
Missing the closing date and its repercussions could cause the property acquisition to start back at square one, Crippen added.
A problem that Habitat faces is not having the grant money in time to close the deal, so commissioners approved to loan around $102,000 to the organization.
The organization is expecting to be able to pay back the loan by mid-February, said Crippen.
Commissioners also approved a project to completely replace one of Athens County’s historic bridges.
A modern-style bridge will replace the steel-truss bridge on County Road 28 in Millfield, but the trusses will be salvaged and stored on county property, said Athens County Engineer Jeff Maiden.
The project, which took more than a year to approve, is set to begin in the 2014 fiscal year, which means it should be built by the fall, Maiden said.
Also approved by commissioners were their priorities for infrastructure improvements.
Sanitary collection was ranked most important, followed by solid waste, roads, and then bridges.
“Usually we put water as first and sewers as second because those are the hardest to get money for,” Athens Commissioner Lenny Eliason said.
County officials will also be attending town hall meetings throughout the county on a quarterly basis.
Athens Commissioner Chris Chmiel will be going to Glouster and Nelsonville, while fellow Commissioner Charlie Atkins will be going to Albany, and Eliason will be going to Coolville.
“It will be good for us to get out there,” Chmiel said. “(We want to) make sure they know we are working for them.”
Chmiel added that other county officials such as Maiden and Sheriff Pat Kelly may be at some of the town hall meetings as well.
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