Wednesday, April 29th, 2015
Celina advances in quest to snag grant
By William Kincaid
CELINA - The city this morning was selected as one of 50 quarterfinalists in the America's Best Communities competition, which offers a $3 million grand prize.
City council will match today's $35,000 award with $15,000 to pay for an economic development consultant to complete a more detailed application for future rounds. The application is due in six months. Ultimately, three winners will be chosen in April 2017. The top prize is $3 million to be used to accelerate economic growth and improve quality of life.
More than 138 teams representing 347 communities across America, including 23 from Ohio, applied for the contest sponsored by Frontier Communications, DISH, CoBank and The Weather Channel, according to a press release. Six first-round winners, Celina, Circle-ville, Medina, Portsmouth, Troy and Wilmington, are from Ohio.
"I am very pleased. I think we've got a great project on the lakeshore area. It's going to be stiff competition moving forward but I think we have a tremendous chance," Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel told the newspaper.
Applications, according to the press release, were reviewed by a "panel of independent expert judges" and selected "based upon an objective set of criteria."
"The America's Best Communities competition is a catalyst for positive change and the Celina community is focused on building for the future," Frontier General Manager Dick Hutchinson said. "All of us at Frontier are eager to see Celina develop its plan and take the next step in a competition that is making a difference in scores of American communities."
The contest aims to stimulate economic revitalization in small towns and cities, and Celina officials, whose plan focuses on developing the Bryson Park District along Lake Shore Drive, believe they have a model plan.
The newly formed Celina Parks Advisory Board soon will convene to discuss the next steps in the competition, Hazel said.
"This is more difficult than some of the state grants we've gone after," Hazel said.
Jim Mustard, a grant writer representing the Celina Rotary Club, helped write the initial application.
"You have to have a project and it has to be a project that once you start it, it's going to be seen as a ripple effect economically for the community," Mustard said.
The plan focuses on developing the Bryson Park District, located at the sites of the former Mercelina Mobile Court and Versa Pak building, to spur community-wide economic development.
Hazel has said the goal is multifaceted.
"It's a draw for tourism because it does sit on the lake and we want that to be a part of that. We also absolutely want a cornerstone to be what we as a community can use here today," he had said at a parks advisory board meeting in March.
Myriad ideas, including a multipurpose community building, a marina and an ice-skating rink, were bandied about at that meeting but the one idea achieving consensus was an amphitheater.
Other ideas included recreation equipment for handicapped children and toddlers, as well as for older children; a splash pad; a flower/herb garden and picnic area; a fountain; more docks; more shelter houses; a marina where people could stay overnight in their boats; paddleboats; more pull-up spots along the lake for fisherman and picnickers; and nice restroom facilities with showers.
