Building demo derby: Holmes seeks grant to help fund tear-downs

MILLERSBURG — The Holmes County Planning Commission director is pursuing a $500,000 demolition grant that could help eliminate some of the dilapidated buildings in and around the community.

Arnie Oliver said he has not yet heard back from the state whether or not the county will receive the funding, but he believes it will be a good project for the area.

"The details are few and far between," Oliver said. "But if we get the funds, we can tear down some abandoned buildings and resell the lots."

He said the county had funding for a similar project about 10 years ago.

"It's a fun project," he said. "Driving around the county, occasionally you find a house that is beyond repair. We used the available dollars from this grant to demolish the home, remove the asbestos safely, return it to a vacant lot and get it back into the rotation for some type of better use."

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Good for the community

Oliver said in some villages, if there is a dilapidated house it brings the property value of all the homes around it down.

"By removing the dilapidated homes, it improves the whole neighborhood," he said.

Holmes County Commissioner Rob Ault said if funding does come through, he would like to see the county do something with the old health department building beside Pomerene Hospital along state Route 83 in Millersburg. The facility is being used for storage.

Pursuing other grants

Oliver also is pursing a grant through Historical Downtown Millersburg that would be used to improve building in the downtown area. The funds originate from Heritage Ohio.

"This grant has a couple hundred thousand dollars that can be used to renovate buildings in downtown Millersburg," Oliver said. "There has not been a lot of response from other Main Street communities, so there's a chance that once we use up the allocation for Holmes County, there may be additional funds available."

Oliver added the county Planning Commission is seeking $150,000-$200,000 from state Community Development Block Grant funds.

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Planning Commission board members reappointed

A trio of members were reappointed to the Holmes County Planning Commission. Gabe Aufrance of Millersburg, Brian Rafferty of Holmesville and Robert Miller of Berlin were reappointed to the 10-member board.

"These three are longtime members who I think have done an excellent job," Oliver said.

Aufrance is a Millersburg banker who has served for the past five or six years, according to the director.

Rafferty joined the board when he was the mayor of Holmesville, and stayed on as an at-large member, focusing on emergency services. He is a Holmesville firefighter.

Miller has a growing engineering firm in Berlin and has an increasing presence around the county.

"He offers a great input from an engineering standpoint when a subdivision comes through," Oliver said.

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County Commissioner Ray Eyler said commissioners appreciate people who are willing to serve on these boards.

"These people dedicate a lot of their time to serve," Ault added. "They are not paid for this. It's all volunteer, and we appreciate them taking the time and interest in the county."

Mark Leininger of Millersburg and Robert Baker of Killbuck were reappointed to serve on the Holmes County Airport Authority, and Jordan Stutzman of Millersburg was appointed to serve on the Holmes County District Public Library board.

Stutzman, an accountant at Rea & Associates, said he is looking forward to getting more involved in the community.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Holmes planning office applies for grant to raze dilapidated buildings