PLYMOUTH — A $500,000 state infrastructure grant will help pay for a significant stormwater project that will hopefully begin next spring, according to Mayor Cassaundra Fryman.
The Ohio Department of Development announced the grant on Monday as part of $6 million it’s distributing to 13 communities around the state via its critical infrastructure program.
“We’re excited to get this grant and excited to get started,” Fryman said of the project, aimed at reducing flooding in the village.
The total project is estimated at $970,000, the mayor said, adding the village will pay for the remainder from its water fund and also about $130,000 in revenue it received this year from timber sales behind its water treatment plant.
The project will replace 2,420 linear feet of 12-inch storm sewer line and rebuild the road above the storm sewer line on West Broadway Street, also known as Baseline Road.
“West Broadway is notorious for having drainage issues during torrential downpours,” Freeman said. “It creates hazards for our first responders and also for residents who are dealing with water backflushing into places where it should not go.
“The project will benefit the entire village,” the mayor said.
West Broadway runs east to west through the village and connects from the western edge of Plymouth to the center of town, which has all essential services like City Hall, police department, fire department, etc.
In its application, the village said the current situation makes transport of patients by EMS “treacherous” when floods cut the neighborhood from access by emergency and fire services.
Freeman said the current storm system is inadequate for the village.
“It’s not that it has collapsed. It’s not adequate. It’s too small and there are not enough drains on the street. They are spaced too far apart,” the mayor said.
“We hope to get started next spring. We just got approved this week,” Freeman said.
Plymouth was the only governmental entity in Richland County to receive of the infrastructure grants. The state department of development also announced $6 million in grants to nine other Ohio communities through its neighborhood revitalization program.
“These projects are crucial to our communities,” said Lydia Mihalik, the state’s development department director. “Improvements to streets and sidewalks boost quality of life for our residents, provide access to our small businesses and create opportunity for future development.”
