U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes seeking federal funding for 4 Stark County projects
Congresswoman Emilia Sykes is seeking nearly $40 million in federal community funding for 15 projects in her freshman term, including four infrastructure projects in Stark County and one at Akron-Canton Airport.
If funded, the Stark projects would create a more walkable streetscape along Tuscarawas Street E just east of downtown Canton; replace flood sluice gates that prevent flooding in Massillon; build a new water tower in Canal Fulton; build a water well on the Arrowhead Golf Course property; and build a concrete apron to park planes and provide space to build hangars that would expand the capacity of Akron-Canton Airport. The other 10 projects are in Summit County.
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“This year’s community project funding submissions will make critical investments in our communities to improve the lives of people in Northeast Ohio,” Sykes, D-Akron, said in a statement.
Sykes asked governmental entities and nonprofits in the 13th District to submit their funding requests by March 17. Sykes had just been sworn in about two months before, and her office said the House Appropriations Committee accelerated the deadlines for the community funding program.
Sykes selected the 15 projects out of 45 applications, her office said. Her office, citing applicants' privacy, declined to release information about the projects that didn't make the cut.
Why streetscaping in Canton?
The East Tuscawaras Streetscape Redesign project is the only Canton project on the list.
Canton Engineer James Benekos said the city is requesting $2.19 million of an estimated $2.74 million to build the streetscape.
He said the city wants to rebuild the sidewalks, which he said are now in poor condition, to improve pedestrian access for a 2,000-foot-stretch of Tuscarawas Street E from Cherry Avenue east to Rowland Avenue. The city wants to reduce the width of streets at pedestrian crossings; add ornamental street and brick accents, similar to the streetscape the city built along Mahoning Road NE; plant trees; and add curbs, gutters, ornamental lighting and a bike lane.
"It enhances the neighborhood. It enhances the downtown area. It makes it more attractive for businesses, for residents," said Benekos, adding the the city bundled smaller projects into a larger one to fit the community funding program criteria. "It’s a lot better chance (to get funding) than if we’re not on the list.”
Why does the Akron-Canton Airport want a new apron?
The Akron-Canton Airport is seeking $2.4 million to build a 10,850-square-yard concrete and asphalt area known as an apron on the northwest end of its airfield. That would provide a greater area for planes to park and to build new plane hangars. Currently, the airport has lined up funds to build a taxiway, and it needs to find a place to park planes to create the space for the taxiway.
Airport Vice President of Air Service and Business Development Lisa Dalpiaz said the airport can't accommodate more private planes and non-commercial aviation operations because its hangars and current aprons are at full capacity. She said it's expensive to meet federal aviation standards for a thick layer of asphalt on an airfield because the standards are much more rigorous than for a typical street for cars.
"We just don’t have hangar space, so we have to turn away business on a regular occasion because we don’t have anywhere to put them," said Dalpiaz.
She said the airport is hoping to get the funding so it can begin breaking ground on the project next spring.
What are the Massillon, Canal Fulton and North Canton projects?
Massillon and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are seeking $832,500 to replace a dozen flood sluice gates at the end of their lives that reduce flooding in Massillon. According to the Massillon Museum, the city suffered from damaging floods in 1904, 1913 and 1935 from the Tuscarawas River. Contractors built aqueducts, moved part of the river and constructed a flood control system now overseen by Massillon and the Army Corps. Since 2020, the Army Corps as part of a $22 million project has been reinforcing the banks of the river against erosion.
Canal Fulton wants $2.18 million to construct a new water tower to store up to 250,000 gallons of water, build a new water pump station and build connections between that tower and existing water lines that would supply clean water to about 30 existing homes on the west side of the city not connected to a water system.
North Canton has requested $500,000 to pay to drill and build a water well at Arrowhead Golf Course to get water with lower chloride levels and a significantly lower risk of being contaminated.
What are the Summit County projects?
The Summit County projects are:
Launching an Akron Urban League program to provide mentors to teach life skills to juveniles at danger of becoming adult criminals.
Building a community center in Barberton.
Replacing an East South Street bridge in Akron.
Repairing an airport hangar at Kent State University Airport in Stow.
Buying at least two cruisers for the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
Building a science, technology, engineering and math education center for the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio.
Building a polymer research facility at the University of Akron.
Connecting two water transmission mains in Hudson.
Extending a water and sewage system in New Franklin.
Protecting Silver Lake near Hudson from the discharge of sewage treatment chemicals.
What's next in the process?
Sykes' office said there are no firm rules on how much funding each congressional member can obtain. The total funding amount for all earmark projects is set as a small percentage of a discretional budget amount. But the general guideline is 15 projects, averaging $2 million to $3 million per project.
The subcommittees of the House Appropriation Committee are expected to hammer out by this summer how much funding each requested project on a congressional member's list will get for fiscal 2024. But nothing is final until a bill becomes law. And it's not unheard of for a senator championing a project to significantly increase its funding level on the Senate side after a House subcommittee has significantly cut it.
The 13th District covers all of Summit County and Canton, Massillon, Jackson Township, North Canton, Plain Township, Lake Township, Lawrence Township and Tuscarawas Township.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. Twitter: @rwangREP.
Correction: Congresswoman Emilia Sykes chose the 15 projects she would seek federal community funding for, her office said. An earlier version of this article did not correctly identify who selected the projects.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Rep. Emilia Sykes submits requests to fund Stark, Summit projects
