Laurel Hill seeks $600,000 grant

LAUREL HILL — The City Council has finalized an application for a $600,000 development grant.

The application requires the city to map out projects it would use funds toward if the grant were awarded. The scope of those projects is then compiled and plotted on a 1,000-point scale. The higher the score, the greater impact the projects will have on the city and the better chance of receiving the grant.

The city’s original plan yielded a score of 307 and was based solely on various road improvement projects. The council opted to revise that plan to improve the score before submittal.

The modified plan replaced project areas and included funding improvements to the city’s water infrastructure. City leaders approved the updated plan after changes bumped the grant score to 568, according to City Clerk Nita Miller.

If awarded the grant, road improvements will be made to areas of Third Street, Steel Mill Creek Road, Second Avenue and Eighth Street. Water lines along Miller Street and Stokes Road would be renovated as well, Miller said.

“[The city council] also agreed to make a $25,000 match that improved the score to 593,” Miller said. The match would be an infrastructure investment of city finances into the projects if the grant were awarded.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development focuses on funding for areas of low to moderate income. Florida receives between 18 and 26 million dollars each year to award to local municipalities, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill seeks $600,000 grant