There were multiple grants discussed at the July Watonga City Council meeting. What follows is a breakout of those grants, what the requirements are and where the town is in the application process.
One grant the town has already been approved for will pay $2 million toward new pipes to deliver water. The town has asked for an engineering waiver that would save some $780,000 on the cost of engineering and put $1.2 million toward the actual waterlines.
A second grant that has been achieved is a Rural Health Transportation grant. It will provide $350,000 toward new ambulances. City Manager Leroy Alsup said the oldest truck in the fleet will be replaced and the grant was written and pursued by Heather Boeckman. The program puts a five year limit on towns, so that it will be five years before Watonga can seek another ambulance grant from this organization.
With the city having been recently recognized as a Tree City USA, it is seeking an Urban and Community Forestry Program grant. It provides funding to plant and maintain trees and improve green spaces. The town could receive between $5,000 and $50,000 for trees to provide shade to area parks and enhance the looks of the town.
While the next window for a Tobacco Endowment Settlement Trust grant is next year, the city will seek an introductory grant from the trust. That grant, about $60,000 over three years, requires no match and can even be used as matching funds for other grants.
The purpose of the grants is to improve public health by taking on causes of preventable death, such as tobacco use (other than ceremonially), obesity, cancer and heart disease by promoting active, healthy living.
One suggestion for use of the grant money, if it is won, is to repair, restore or rebuild the splash pad. Other acceptable uses are walking paths and improving playgrounds or walking paths through the addition of lights, seats or other improvements.
The city is also seeking an Oklahoma Water Resources Board rural economic action plan grant. That funding is for about $350,000 and could be used to shore up the city’s coffers which have been impacted by the costs of the drinking water treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant building projects. Although those projects were paid for largely through an OWRB loan, there have been ancillary costs the city had to meet, as well as variations in the sales and use taxes earned by the city.