Zanesville Museum of Art, Muskingum University among state money recipients

Erin Couch, Zanesville Times Recorder
·3 min read
Nora Horstnan, 8, and Zanesville Museum of Art education intern Tiffani Brewster work on butterfly window decorations during the museum's art camp on Friday. The museum will receive $50,000 from the capital budget for EIFS repairs and HVAC replacement.
Nora Horstnan, 8, and Zanesville Museum of Art education intern Tiffani Brewster work on butterfly window decorations during the museum's art camp on Friday. The museum will receive $50,000 from the capital budget for EIFS repairs and HVAC replacement.

ZANESVILLE — Various projects across Muskingum County will collectively receive nearly $1.9 million as part of an Ohio Legislature grant program.

Money from the Ohio Capital Budget is allocated every couple years. Representatives and senators from across the state vie for local projects.

Seven projects received funding in Muskingum County. Among them, a new HVAC system for the Zanesville Museum of Art, a new facility for Mid-East Career and Technology Centers' CDL program improvements to Muskingum University's Boyd Science Center, and a new pool in New Concord.

More: New Concord awarded $75K for new swimming pool

Ohio House District 97 Rep. Adam Holmes, R-Nashport, saw potential in the seven projects.

Adam Holmes
Adam Holmes

"I really look at actively doing things that enhance our community for everybody – something as broad-brush as we can get," Holmes said.

Those projects are good for connecting with one another, Holmes said, but they also will be big economic drivers for Muskingum County's communities. That comes in the form of educational investments and facility improvements to vital community hubs.

"Those kinds of things that are really accessible to our communities — community builders," he said. "I do think the more we interact with each other, the more we invest and take pride in (the community)."

Educational investments aimed at driving progress

There are two major projects aimed at progressing higher education in Muskingum County. Holmes sees them as great opportunities for young people, but also to drive economic development across the region.

Mid-East received $300,000 to establish a testing site for its CDL adult education program. Right now, students have to go off-site to obtain their CDL once they go through the curriculum, and there's usually a waiting list.

Speeding up the process would help address the labor shortage of truckers across the region and country.

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"It also would support other schools in southeast Ohio whose students would be required to drive an even further distance for testing than what our students currently drive," Superintendent Matthew Sheridan previously told the Times Recorder.

Muskingum University also received a grant. It is expanding its nursing lab at the Boyd Science Center, contributing to renovation of the new health sciences floor.

"This renovation will enable us to recruit and upscale our nursing and general health care programs creating additional pathways for students to professions in health care," Muskingum spokeswoman Michelle Ball said. "This, in turn, will increase the high-quality, health care workforce in our region."

Community builders important, lawmakers say

State Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, said the funds will have a tremendous impact on economic development in the community.

"This will be a game-changer for workforce development in Muskingum County while giving organizations vital funds to make improvements to their facilities," Schaffer said. ”

Tim Schaffer
Tim Schaffer

That includes updates on buildings. The Museum of Art is getting an update to its EIFS system and a new HVAC system. Forever Dads received $125,000 for new windows in its building, and Muskingum Behavioral Health will get $25,000 for exterior repairs.

Another big project on the way for city of Zanesville is the Zanesville Gateway District. It will build apartments and establish a new space for a farmer's market close to downtown.

The largest Muskingum County grant, The Wilds will also get $1 million for infrastructure improvements.

Citing a recent proposal by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to invest $500 million into Ohio's Appalachian communities, Holmes said, "I think there’s really directed effort toward Appalachia, Southeast Ohio, specifically Guernsey and Muskingum counties to get us going again after the pandemic.We all want to do it — make it better and better."

A complete list of the Ohio Capital Budget investments:

  • New Concord swimming pool: $75,000

  • Forever Dads historic building restoration: $125,000

  • Zanesville Gateway District: $50,000

  • Zanesville Museum of Art EIFS repairs, HVAC replacement: $50,000

  • Mid-East Career and Technology Centers: $300,000

  • Muskingum University Boyd Science Center: $250,000

  • Muskingum Behavioral Health: $25,000

  • The Wilds: $1 million

ecouch@gannett.com

740-334-3522

Twitter: @couchreporting

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Ohio Capital Budget will fund projects across Muskingum County