County prioritizes projects for funding as officials try to connect waterfront to downtown
COSHOCTON − Coshocton County officials are still optimistic about receiving funding for four projects from the Appalachian Community Grant Program, even as the state is asking counties to prioritize requests.
Coshocton County is part of a group application by the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association seeking more than $158 million for 41 projects in 10 counties and 26 communities. Up to $500 million is available through the program from American Rescue Plan Act funds for the 32 counties comprising Appalachia in Ohio.
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.
Tiffany Swigert, executive director of the Coshocton Port Authority and president of the OMEGA executive board, said a request was recently made by the Ohio Department of Development for each county to rank their projects. She believes this is because more requests were received than officials were expecting.
Swigert said upon clarification, projects could be lumped together if connected and in a single location and given one level of priority. Based on that, the Skip's Landing expansion and revitalization of the Pastime Theater were put together as the top priority.
She said they both connect to downtown revitalization and creating a trail that would take people from Skip's Landing on County Road 1A into downtown with the focus being on recreational opportunities, especially for families.
She said it also ties into regionalization. The waterways accessible at Skip's Landing traverse multiple counties. The Pastime Theater project was connected in the application to a theater consortium with Secrest Auditorium in Zanesville, Cambridge Performing Arts Center and the State Theater in Barnesville. The Pastime Theater will also be inside the Coshocton Collaborative, to feature offices, maker spacer and support for entrepreneurs starting or expanding businesses. That project was grouped with others in Athens, Logan and Somerset under the name of the At Work in Appalachia Initiative and received $17.67 million in the first round of grant of funding.
"Our entire goal is to connect our waterfront to downtown. We created a downtown revitalization plan along with Skip's Landing and the Pastime Theater is a huge anchor in that," Swigert said.
The campground through the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District was ranked second. Swigert believes there are other grant opportunities available for that project if not approved.
"The port authority, the commissioners, the city, we can work together to support, rather it be by letter or partnership, their request in other outlets. Where there are no other outlets right now for theater funding or downtown revitalization funding," Swigert said.
The train depot was ranked third for two reasons. Swigert said if not funded, they could probably find the amount elsewhere. Also, it could be added to the request from Tuscarawas County for depots in Dennison and Newcomerstown.
Award announcements for projects are expected in February and all projects would need completed by October 2026.
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: Coshocton prioritizes projects for Appalachian Community Grant funding
