County looking to Appalachian Community funding to help with four projects in Coshocton
COSHOCTON − The Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association has submitted a regional application for the Appalachian Community Grant Program that includes four projects for Coshocton County.
The group application by OMEGA is seeking more than $158 million for 41 projects in 10 counties and 26 communities. The theme of the application is Destination Appalachia: Pathway to Prosperity. Up to $500 million is available through the program from American Rescue Plan Act funds for the 32 counties comprising Appalachia in Ohio.
Award announcements for projects are expected in February and all projects would need completed by the end of 2026. OHM Advisors of Columbus is acting as a procured planner for Coshocton County to navigate the grant process and do preliminary planning and design work. Ten projects were examined with three submitted for funding.
Being pursued is $2.9 million for construction of a campground and trails near Wills Creek, more than $6.7 million for expansion of Skip's Landing, $175,000 for construction of a train depot part of extending the Dennison & Ohio Railroad system and $9.5 million for renovations of the Pastime Theater.
Outdoor recreation one focus of projects
The Wills Creek Mountain Bike Trail and Campgrounds would be part of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District plans to create a contiguous preserve from Ohio 541 to Wills Creek in Linton Township. Grant funding would go toward a campground, a world-class trail system for mountain biking and trailhead parking with the purpose of promoting recreational tourism.
Skip's Landing is a 3.5 acre park on County Road 1A that features the McWane River Walk, Coshocton's Farmers Market and green space for families. ACG funding would go toward permanent structures and additional public seating for the farmers market and other events, plus connecting walkways to the downtown business and entertainment district.
“In today’s society, it has become increasingly important for communities to have opportunities for outdoor recreation, especially trails and walking paths. Studies have proven spending time outdoors not only benefits the mental and physical health of individuals but also increases local business, provides an enhanced quality of life and helps to provide a higher sense of hometown pride," said Commissioner Dane Shyrock in a press release.
Pastime Theater
Tiffany Swigert, executive director of the Coshocton Port Authority, said the proposed Pastime Theater entered into a greater theater consortium with Secrest Auditorium in Zanesville, Cambridge Performing Arts Center and the State Theater in Barnesville. The theaters will work cooperatively with promoters to increase the utilization of the venues, to coordinate bookings and create multi-day itineraries to increase overnight stays in the region and to provide operational and technical support to each other.
The 454-seat theater in the Chacos Building at 538 Main St. is part of the Coshocton Collaborative owned by the Coshocton Port Authority. The first round of funding from the Appalachian Community Grant Program saw $17.67 million go to projects in Athens, Logan, Somerset and Coshocton under the name of the At Work in Appalachia Initiative. The collaborative will feature offices, maker spacer and support for entrepreneurs starting or expanding businesses.
Coshocton Train Depot Plaza
The Coshocton Train Depot Plaza has nothing to do with the recent Amtrak announcement of examining Ohio expansion or the old train station being renovated on Fifth Street between Main and Walnut streets.
Aaron Domini of OHM said the station would be northeast of downtown and simply be a stop for people to get on and off the train and then go into Coshocton for shopping and dining. OMEGA said a loop would connect Dennison, Newcomerstown and Coshocton.
Domini said the idea for the stop would be to play off of the rising Downtown Coshocton area with businesses already there or coming and other projects in development like renovations to the Selby Building and the old Pastime Theater being turned into the Coshocton Collaborative and could feature a theater in the future. He would like to connect visitors to Skip's Landing as well.
OHM did extensive work for Downtown Newark and Domini said that's the goal for Coshocton with Newark about 10 years ahead on development. The concept being infrastructure leading to private investment.
"The experience once (people) get off there is going to have to be determined by the Coshocton Port Authority and the City of Coshocton, triangulating different experiences from theater to the restaurants and working on the streetscapes there," Domini said of the depot. "This is another layer of the onion in the next chapter of what Coshocton aims to be. The train depot isn't going to make Coshocton. The streetscape isn't going to make Coshocton, Skip's (Landing) isn't going to make Coshocton. The theater isn't. But when you start putting all these things together, it's a collective revitalization strategy that's going to take it to the next place."
Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @llhayhurst.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Appalachian Community Grant funds sought for Coshocton County projects
