Mayor updates council on efforts to revitalize Downtown Dennison
DENNISON (WJER) (April 26, 2022) – Village officials are continuing to look for ways to reduce the cost of a downtown beautification project.
Council has set aside $195,000 in American Rescue Plan money to replace the street lights along Grant Street between North First and the gazebo with decorative LED ones. Mayor Greg DiDonato told members last week that AEP may be willing to pay for the fixtures since the village leases the existing ones so they would only have to buy the poles.
“For example, those heads you put on, those LED heads, they’re $2,500 apiece. AEP has indicated that’s something they could do. And it’s like, we don’t need to buy them. If you figure it out, 20 of them is $50,000.”
The town is also seeking $72,000 from The Reeves Foundation for new trash cans, planters, benches, and street markers; and $171,000 from the Appalachian Regional Coalition.
“That’ll be geared to decks and decorative sidewalking, put $50,000 toward underground sewer paving combination. If we get that one, we’ll be sitting on Cloud Nine.”
DiDonato expects to hear back from the foundation in the next week or so. He says the coalition will invite the village to submit a full application if that request advances from the preliminary stage.