Browse Appalachian Community Grant Program (ACGP) Ideas

County(ies)

Ideas/Thoughts

Adams County

Downtown redevelopment – renovations

School-based health clinics – 3

Connecting state parks to local communities/bike & walking

Railway trail/biking & walking

Industry-driven training program for Fire & EMS

Ohio Buckeye Trail to connect to the river

Underground Railroad history in Manchester

Brush Creek Trail in Process

Connect to trails from Scioto County – every 12 miles Appalachian connection

Tobacco barns (tourism)

Shawnee West- Buckeye Trail Development. The Buckeye Trail has partial funding of $195,000/$495,707 through the Ohio Capitol Bill for the expansion of the Buckeye Trail west of Shawnee State Forest. This trail relocation will replace 4.3 miles of road walk with 15.57 miles of off road trail through the Nature Conservancy’s Edge of Appalachia Nature Preserve connecting to the existing 14 miles of off road trail in Shawnee State Forest. This project will help develop the region to be a backpacking destination with +/- 50 miles of off road Buckeye Trail. Project estimates $6/ linear foot

Brown County

Why they should live, work, and play in Brown County

Mental Telehealth

Library /Community Centers

Library-based Community Health

Dental & Vision SBH expansion

Village of Ripley (no zoning in village)

• Recreational tourism
  • Cultural arts & entertainment
  • Trail connecting regional cultural arts
• Underground
• Collapsed culverts, streets need paved
• Sidewalks fixed; lights fixed
• Once dock was approved, then real estate worth went up.

Equipment for University of Cincinnati

• Manufacturing
• Faculty Release time
• Ball Field Resurface

HUBS for SSCC/Highland

• Computer Science
• Equipment
• Remote Workspace

SHCTC is almost shovel-ready – to extend it’s footprint

Brown County Library

• Remote worksites
• Entrepreneur Assistance/Services

Tourism

Trails tie into downtown

Signage on trails for businesses & at businesses for trails nearby

Russellville has 2 trails running thru

A revitalization of the historic downtown section of Georgetown Ohio. This is our county seat and this project will enhance our ability to attract and retain our small businesses. This will also help us preserve history. I am looking at the possibility of restoring an old building in the district and starting an Ohio Civil War center museum in conjunction with all the Ulysses S. Grant Sites in town and the underground railroad sites in Ripley, Ohio

Working with ODOT as a collaborative funding source for a streetscape along St. Rt. 125 through our Village as part of our revitalization projects.

Clermont County

• Little Miami
• Williamsburg to Batavia (started)
• Want to go over to Brown County & further east
• Would love to connect to Ripley

Highland County

Outdoor Recreation tied to healthcare

Mental health clinics at schools

City of Hillsboro

• Amphitheater Downtown
  • Roughly 3 acres of land looking for partners
  • For downtown development can partner with private entities
• Trails that lead to amphitheater
  • Railroad beds

New development of an amphitheater, green space, with trails that the city currently owns (old railroads) that will lead to the amphitheater. Maybe the concept to collaborate regionally with other amphitheater projects to create a non-profit arts guild for regional tourism to promote the amphitheaters. The space is located in the city’s uptown.

Other projects may include, public-private partnership in the Historic District to transform a space into multiple incubator spaces for vendors. Currently have 10+ vendors in the space.

Jackson County

• Amphitheater
• Bike Path Connectivity
• Lodging

Pike County

• Multi-Community get on the map historic districts & downtowns
• Looking into regional trails to connect

Cultural Arts Regional District

New main library – Waverly Branch

Pike County Library

• New Building
• Redevelopment of old building

Southern Ohio Amish Trail

Youth Lodge

Community Connect Trail

• Waverly to Lake White to Piketon

Cave Lake

• Center for Community Leadership

Village of Piketon

• Downtown revitalization connecting downtown to Lake White

Ross County

• Amphitheater
• Bike/Walking Trail
• New Riverside District
• Expansion of Downtown

Sports/Stadium Complex

Trail Development/Expansion

Doug McDonald – hoping to help with connections

Scioto County

• Renovation of new building to consolidate SUD services

Village of South Webster

• Walking/Jogging/Biking path A continuation of the existing walking path on old railroad bed to link up with the proposed park area, elementary school, and public library. Serves the larger community with expanded outdoor recreation opportunities.
• Historic City Hall – Museum & Events Center Restore the Historic City Hall (circa 1935) to use as a museum housing local collection of photos, documents, artifacts etc. and a venue for local arts & crafts and community celebrations. Serves the larger community by creating an awareness of local heritage and culture centered around mining, railroads, and agriculture; creates a space and a potential sales outlet for local artisans; unifies the community around holiday celebrations.
• Renovation of Jackson Street Update the main street through town with brick sidewalks, decorative streetlights, and buried utilities to create a more pleasing business and residential environment; has the potential to attract new business and tourism.
• Village Park Develop the area around Historic City Hall and old fire department into a village park for hosting community events, seasonal farmer’s market, and recreational activities.
• Development of Old Fire Department (also has potential for Workforce and Healthcare components) Renovate this space to support a remote work center, shared office space for business start-ups, telemedicine access, and remote online learning for the local under-served population without access to broadband 6. New Community Recreation Facilities (also has Healthcare component) Construct new tennis/pickleball courts for community use and for use by Bloom-Vernon Local School District. Construct a new community swimming pool/splash park to provide recreation opportunities for area youth.

Shawnee North- Buckeye Trail Development. This project is in need of funding for $195,485. This trail relocation will replace 5.1 miles of road walk with 6.14 miles of off road trail through the newly acquired lands of Shawnee State Forest, purchased through Forest Legacy Funding. This trail segment will connect to the existing 14 miles of off road trail in Shawnee State Forest. This project will help develop the region to be a backpacking destination with +/- 50 miles of off road Buckeye Trail. Project estimates $6/ linear foot of trail building.

Multi-County

• Construction of a multi-level parking garage to accommodate the demand for downtown business parking and increase usage of the Milford Trailhead. The parking garage structure will continue to support downtown economic development and provide direct access to eight trails connected at the trailhead. Milford is pivotally located at the intersection of America’s Long Distance Trails, intersecting seven paths totaling over 22,000 miles. Those seven trails include the following: The Buckeye Trail, North Country National Scenic Trail, American Discovery Trail, Sea to Sea Long Distance Hiking Trail, Underground Railroad Cycling Route, Ohio to Erie Cycling Route, and Little Miami Scenic Trail. The parking garage will also provide access to the Jim Terrell Park canoe/kayak launch along the Little Miami River.
• A history walk beginning with a walking path and bike path in our park and leading through our community to all the historical sites of President Ulysses S. Grant’s childhood home, and his school. This will lead through our historical downtown and include some revitalization of some or our historic district area. This will help our tourism, economic development as well as benefit citizens and tourist with exercise and history lessons for this area.

Adams, Brown, Clermont, Highland

• HealthSource will expand its successful school-based health model in districts throughout four counties and offer workforce development training in partnership with area vocational and technical schools, as well as community colleges.

Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, Scioto, Vinton

• Three Multi-County. 1. comprehensive development of Ohio River for Travel and Tourism. Includes Primary full-service boating facilities, along with secondary docking facilities, tied to downtown, cultural and recreation facilities at smaller village locations. Could potentially develop sections with River Taxis ie. Ft Lauderdale model. 2. Trail system interconnecting Ohio River Ironton, Southern Wayne, Jackson via the abandoned DTI Railroad bed, and then on northward to Northern Wayne and Nelsonville, etc. Would provide a trail system that could accommodate Regional and National Travel and events. (ie. mountain biking, ATV, etc. 3. Create a Historic Theater Circuit and events to attract regional travel.

Adams, Brown, Clermont, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto

• Riverfront Development-Port of Portsmouth, Spartan Stadium Sports Complex to enhance outdoor recreation, recreational boating and paddling along the Scioto and Ohio Rivers. Hiking/Biking/Multi-Use/Water Trails connecting local and regional natural resources East to Clermont County US52 and North to Ross County US23 Rails to Trails from West Portsmouth to Rarden

Adams, Brown, Clermont, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Ross, Scioto, Vinton

• Covered Bridge Restoration and Preservation Project
  Appalachian Ohio has quite a few covered bridges. These symbols of a time gone by before freeways and 4 land highways bring back the nostalgia associated with those days. Often located in out-of-the-way locations, seeking out the covered bridges of Ohio is a great way to spend an afternoon. There are some fine examples of covered bridges that were once a common site throughout the state, but today they are much harder to find. Many of the ones that are left are in disrepair and/or difficult to find. If these historical landmarks are not restored and maintained, they will be gone forever. The project would include restoration/preservation and continued maintenance. Cohesive wayfinding signage and maps are needed, along with a regional marketing plan for the “Covered Bridges of Appalachian Ohio.” Covered bridges seem to bring back a romantic era in our country’s development and seeing those bridges off the beaten path helps invoke some of those feelings. Let’s make our covered bridges part of an ongoing effort that highlights our heritage with Ohio’s future.

Adams, Highland, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton

• There are over 210,000 acres of ODNR Division of Forestry land in Ross, Scioto, Vinton, Pike, Jackson, Highland and Lawrence counties that could be purchased or leased from ODNR Division of Forestry for the primary use of tourism and recreation. Specifically, professional purpose built cross country and downhill mountain bike, trail running, hiking, backpacking and gravel biking trails. Ohio ranks 44th out of 50 states in availability of public land. The rugged public land southern Ohio is blessed with could be optimized to its fullest economic, cultural and community potential by making these lands the destination of Ohioans and visitors from across the country. Professionally designed trails on these lands would promote health, tourism and stimulate the economy.

Gallia, Jackson, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Vinton

• This project is designed to provide cost-effective, non-addictive healthcare options to an under served area in rural Ohio by providing chiropractic, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy services to help alleviate the opioid crisis and improve the quality of life for residents of Appalachia.

REGIONAL

no specific county(ies) mentioned

“To support, increase and enhance our local workforce by providing training opportunities for those who are at the 400% or below Federal Poverty rate at our local CTCs and CDL providers. This helps fills a gap for those individuals who live within the gap. Within this grant, the main barriers of transportation and childcare will be addressed. Also, training opportunities will be embedded in identified, local major businesses within the participating counties by offering up to 3 scholarships, over the course of the grant, to current employees to help them move up within the company they work for. Currently, there are 9 counties, 6 CAAs [Community Action Agencies], and 5 CTCs [Career and Technical Centers], who are on board with a minimum of 1200 opportunities for our local people to partake in (expands over two development districts). Also, incidentals like PPE, testing fees etc. will be covered for all participants and for WIOA students, along with transportation/childcare for those who might be gaining their GED or adult diploma.”

“With the commitment of stakeholders from across southeastern Ohio, we could develop and implement a long-term workforce development solution that would not only grow our local workforce, but it could also grow our local communities. By developing a strong and resilient workforce network across the region, would strengthen our workforce for local business and industry AND be tooled to provide workforce provisions for the Intel and Honda initiatives in Ohio. This will require the devotion and perseverance of many organizations; however, the ROI would continue for decades to come. And, as outlined repeatedly during the workshop, this is to be a COLLABORATIVE effort.”

Tourism:

“With the push to make SE Ohio a recreation mecca, we need to take our current trails (bike paths) and connect them. There are several trails established but connecting them would be a haven for those who love to bike, run, etc. Plus, it would be something that might unite us all. Pike county has a wonderful plan for trails, there are other counties with similar plans. Could we make a regional plan to expand our current trails and connect with new trails to provide a SE trail (call it whatever)? Within this project, each county could also add another project just for their area. This way it expands across the region and each county can add their own flavor to the project.”

“Perry County [Buckeye Hills Regional Council service area]: To complete construction of a 16,000 sq. ft. Multi-Purpose Building on our fairgrounds. This building will be fully equipped w/ HVAC, Handicap Accessible RR, Kitchen/Warming Area, Full Fire Suppression/Sprinkler System, & Emergency Generator. This year-round facility will benefit the residents of Perry County by being available as a disaster relief facility, as well as, being available to house programs for our veterans, blood drives, food distributions, flu & vaccination clinics, etc. The facility will also serve our county residents’ rental needs, and much more. As a rental facility, it will enable the Perry County Agricultural Society to generate revenue for upkeep and improvement of our buildings & grounds. Additionally, it will serve our county residents & our 4-H/FFA youth as a facility to exhibit, show, & sell their livestock during our Perry County Fair.”