Portage cities not spending infrastructure dollars yet

Billions of dollars are expected to come to Ohio as part of President Joe Biden's infrastructure bill, but local leaders are cautioning that none of that money has arrived here yet, and it's not clear when that will happen.

The bill, signed by the president earlier this week, promises to invest $1.2 trillion into the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

In Ohio, the White House estimates, the state could receive $9.2 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $483 million to repair and replace bridges over a five-year period, the Columbus Dispatch reported. The state can also compete for over $33 billion in grant funding for highway and multi-modal projects. Ohio also is projected to get at least $100 million to improve broadband, $253 million for airports, $1.2 billion for public transportation and $1.4 billion for water infrastructure projects, according to the Dispatch.

City and county officials in Portage County say they're just starting to hear about the bill, and don't know how much money is coming, or what restrictions would be on how it could be spent.

"It's really premature to talk about this," Portage County Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett said. She added that the county is still focused on spending funding from the American Rescue Plan Act approved earlier this year.

Ravenna Mayor Frank Seman told city council this week that residents may assume that the city has more to spend than it actually does.

If the city does get a chunk of money for infrastructure, he predicts that most would want to see it invested in road projects. "Streets are one of the things that most people want us to do."

Many people, he said, have asked the city to pave Main Street. Since Main Street is a state route, the Ohio Department of Transportation has pledged to improve the road, but not until 2024. Many residents, he added, would like to see that project moved up on the list.

"That's a lot of money," he said.

The city also has applied for grant funding to replace the water tower at the former General Electric plant on North Chestnut Street. Since the property is no longer used as a factory and doesn't use as much water as it once did, it's likely that the water tower will be moved elsewhere. But those plans are still being worked out, the mayor said.

Finance director Brian Huff noted that Ravenna's funding allocation will come from the state.

"We have no details on what it could be spent on or how much Ohio is getting and how much will come to the local governments yet," Huff said. "The bill talks about roads and bridges, public transportation, clean water, and a number of other things. The Office of Budget and Management at the State has given us the details for the other federal funds so they should be doing the same for the infrastructure bill as well."

Kent city manager Dave Ruller said he hasn't seen the details of the legislation yet, but believes the funding will be distributed to cities in the form of grants, rather than an automatic allocation, as was the case with COVID relief funding and American Rescue Plan dollars.

Jim Bowling, Kent's city engineer, said the city would likely seek funding for projects that were spelled out in a long range plan through the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study.

"Projects like West Main Street, [Route] 261, North Mantua Street and the Portage bike and hike trail are likely candidates," he said, adding safety projects also are likely to be considered.

Larry Jenkins, the county's deputyengineer, pointed out that many projects the county oversees, including bridge replacement, are planned five years in advance. He said Portage County has a long list of needs, but so do Ohio's other counties.

"We're excited for additional funding," he said. "But it's hard to say when it will roll out, or how it will roll out."

Christian-Bennett said it's also too early to say if the Portage County Regional Airport might qualify for airport funding. Earlier this year, the volunteer board that runs the airport asked commissioners to take over the airport to make it easier for the airport to qualify for federal funding. A master plan update was started in April.

"That's still in discussion," she said of the potential airport takeover.

Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at dsmith@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage leaders not spending infrastructure funds just yet