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Clarksburg Awarded Grant for City Hall Renovation

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Mayor Howell Wayne Todd announced at Monday’s meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen that the USDA’s Office of Rural Development has awarded the City of Clarksburg financial assistance for the purpose of renovating its City Hall. Rural Development assists rural communities by providing financial assistance through a combination grant/loan program at very low-interest rates. Clarksburg’s project has been awarded a $22,000 grant along with long term financing on $125,000. “We have been working on the grant application for over a year, and this is really good news.” “Our City Hall has had very little done to it since its construction almost 40 years ago,” Todd said “and we have been faced with repeated warnings by OHSA to bring the facility up to standards, especially for handicapped accessibility.” “We have run out the clock, and we have to take action.”
The facility was originally constructed in the early ’80s as a small manufacturing operation. After the company closed, the City occupied the facility and has since used it as a community center with a small office for the City Recorder. “The facility is heavily used by the community, often multiple times on weekends. Two major accessibility problems are the entrance and the restroom. The kitchen area needs a serious update, and there is a lack of sufficient office space for the City Recorder. We’ve run out of space to maintain all the records required by the State.” Todd added. “We have also planned for a covered drive-through entrance for the benefit of our citizens during bad weather.”
Todd noted that the City’s General Fund has sufficient reserves to cover the cost of the project, but the grant along with attractive financing offered by USDA was a wiser choice for the City. “We have been careful in managing our limited resources, but we need to leverage government funding when it is to our benefit and also maintain a healthy balance for emergencies,” Todd said. The project will be bid in the coming months, and the targeted completion date is mid-2021.
In other business, plans were made to declare the property at 165 Chumney Lane in violation of City ordinances. July financial reports were approved, and the results of the most recent OHSA inspection were presented. The next meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen is September 28.