Stark County to receive $7 million for local projects in state capital budget

Titus Wu, Akron Beacon Journal
·3 min read
Cole Rembielak catches some air after going off the diving board at Dogwood Pool in North Canton. Dogwood is one of the Stark County locations slated to get funding in Ohio's capital budget.
Cole Rembielak catches some air after going off the diving board at Dogwood Pool in North Canton. Dogwood is one of the Stark County locations slated to get funding in Ohio's capital budget.

Ohio's capital budget will bring $7 million into Stark County for local projects ranging from $1 million for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton to $40,000 for the Genoa one-room schoolhouse in Perry Township.

The budget was unveiled Tuesday and was expected to be approved Wednesday by state lawmakers.

The capital budget is a state spending bill done every two years, totaling more than $3 billion for state infrastructure and community projects. Requests for community funding were due in March.

About $191 million will go to community projects across Ohio, $100 million for school safety, $408 million for agencies using federal COVID-19 relief money and $50 million for local jails. Nearly $1 billion in incentives for Intel's semiconductor project, the largest economic development project in the state, also were included.

For the Akron-Canton area, a $3.9 million request from the Akron-Canton Airport for safety projects was turned down. It had been a priority for both counties, but state Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, said a necessary agreement wasn't in place for a bond fund to support it.

"We got them some money last capital budget," he noted, but "the airport didn't have the agreement this time."

Deacon Jett visits the Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in 2020 with his mother Hannah Freshour and grandfather Bob Freshour of Canton Township.
Deacon Jett visits the Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in 2020 with his mother Hannah Freshour and grandfather Bob Freshour of Canton Township.

What projects are being funded in Stark County?

Stark County received money for 25 projects. The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton is set to receive the largest amount at $1 million. The Palace Theatre in downtown Canton and a cancer center at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital each will receive $500,000.

Aidan Kavanagh goes off the diving board at Dogwood Pool in North Canton on Wednesday. Dogwood is one of the Stark County locations slated to get funding in Ohio's capital budget.
Aidan Kavanagh goes off the diving board at Dogwood Pool in North Canton on Wednesday. Dogwood is one of the Stark County locations slated to get funding in Ohio's capital budget.

In addition to those and the Genoa schoolhouse, the other Canton-area projects are:

  • $571,000 for the Stark Parks' Magnolia Flouring Mills public access project

  • $500,000 for an ArtsinStark park

  • $300,000 for the North Canton Dogwood Pool House

  • $300,000 the proposed Massillon park splash pad

  • $300,000 for the Diamond Park historic barn in Plain Township

  • $300,000 for Meredith Park in Perry Township

  • $300,000 for a community park project in Canal Fulton

  • $300,000 for Faircrest Park in Canton Township

  • $300,000 for the Jackson Amphitheater in Jackson Township

  • $250,000 for Junior Achievement North Central Ohio, a program helping young people financially and career-wise

  • $250,000 for renovation of the Timken Gatehouse

  • $250,000 for Metzger Park in Louisville

  • $171,000 for upgrades to the Wm. McKinley Presidential Library & Museum in Canton

  • $150,000 for the Powell Education Center in Osnaburg Township, honoring William Powell, the first Black person to design, construct and own a professional golf course in the U.S.

  • $150,000 for Pegasus Farm in Marlboro Township

  • $150,000 for Navarre Park

  • $125,000 for Memorial Park in Alliance

  • $125,000 for Thompson-Snodgrass Park in Alliance

  • $68,000 for fire monitoring at the Massillon Museum

  • $50,000 for the Spring Hill Historic Home in Massillon

  • $50,000 for upgrades at the SAM Center in Massillon

Seema Rao, deputy director & chief experience officer Akron Art Museum, looks at Haske, a single use plastic and embroidery work by artist Rufai Zakari, and it is one of the most Instagramble works in the the museum. [Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal] Photo taken Thurssday. Oct. 21, 2021.
Seema Rao, deputy director & chief experience officer Akron Art Museum, looks at Haske, a single use plastic and embroidery work by artist Rufai Zakari, and it is one of the most Instagramble works in the the museum. [Mike Cardew/Akron Beacon Journal] Photo taken Thurssday. Oct. 21, 2021.

What projects are being funded in Summit County?

The capital budget gave funding to 22 projects in neighboring Summit County. The largest — at $1.5 million — was for Blossom Music Center. There were also $1 million to improve Camp Y-Noah in Clinton for the Akron Area YMCA.

Other Akron-area projects include:

  • $500,000 for the Akron Art Museum's Center for Creative Learning

  • $500,000 for the International Soap Box Derby race track in Akron

  • $500,000 for Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens in Akron

  • $250,000 for Summit County Fairgrounds improvements in Tallmadge

  • $100,000 for additional animal housing at the Akron Zoo

To view the statewide list, go to: www.lsc.ohio.gov/documents/budget/134/capitalAppropriations/itemAnalysis/capitalbudgetanalysisprojects_communityonly.pdf.

Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Aidan Kavanagh does a back flip off the diving board at Dogwood Pool in North Canton. Dogwood is one of the Stark County locations slated to get funding in Ohio's capital budget.
Aidan Kavanagh does a back flip off the diving board at Dogwood Pool in North Canton. Dogwood is one of the Stark County locations slated to get funding in Ohio's capital budget.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Stark to receive $7 million for local projects in state capital budget