News Release

INDIANA — Fulton County, Lawill and North Manchester were among seven Indiana communities to receive grants through the Community Development Block Grant program. The grants were announced Thursday, Dec. 21 by Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. A total of $375,320 in planning grants were awarded.

The communities will use the funds to develop plans for the implementation of community and economic development projects. Fulton County was awarded $58,320 and Larwill was awarded $87,000 through the Water Infrastructure Planning Grants.

North Manchester was awarded $40,000 through the Downtown Revitalization Planning Grant.

“I celebrate the work done by these seven communities to obtain planning grants that will improve the quality of life of their residents,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “Rural Indiana is our next great economic frontier. It is important that we are investing in these communities as they continue to thrive and grow into the future.”

The planning grant program strives to encourage communities to plan for long-term community development with the aid of subject matter experts and community input. The applications being funded this quarter address utilities, economic development, downtown revitalization and comprehensive planning efforts.

“Planning grants are often the first step in a community’s redevelopment efforts and are crucial to the success of future projects,” said Christmas Hudgens, OCRA’s Community Development Block Grant director. “Congratulations to these seven communities on earning this grant funding. We look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of each community as they create their strong community and economic development plans.”

Water Infrastructure Grants aid communities in completing a holistic study of potential issues and opportunities across their drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. By completing this planning, communities will be able to make decisions regarding their most urgent water needs while understanding how each system works in context with other utility systems.

Downtown Revitalization Planning Grants encourage communities to plan for long-term community development efforts in various forms, such as business creation, increased tourism, historic preservation and other economic revitalization efforts.

Funding for OCRA’s CDBG programs originates from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant program and is administered for the State of Indiana by OCRA. For more information, click here.