$1.5M in grant applications sent to Golden LEAF
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 6, 2015 1:46 PM
Three Wayne County projects totaling slightly more than $1.5 million will be submitted to the Golden LEAF Foundation for possible grant funding.
However, two of the projects will have to be scaled back by $15,584.50 each to keep the application within the $1.5 million limit.
Wayne County commissioners agreed to apply for the grant for a housing rehabilitation project in Fremont, technology for the Wayne County Public Schools and Wayne Community College's Advanced Manufacturing Center.
Golden LEAF funds come from the tobacco buyout and settlement reached several years ago between the government and the tobacco companies. A portion of the money paid out by the companies was set aside to boost economic development and quality of life in the state. The foundation was created to distribute the money.
The grants are limited to projects that address economic development, education, workforce development, infrastructure, health care infrastructure and agriculture.
The Rev. Dr. Ira Reynolds of First Missionary Baptist Church of Fremont and the town of Fremont asked that the county apply for $31,169 for housing rehabilitation in the town for the poor.
Dr. Michael Dunsmore, Wayne County Public Schools superintendent, asked for $750,000 to help fund the school system's new information technology plan. The total cost is $2,772,321.60.
Dr. Kay Albertson, president of Wayne Community College, requested $750,000 for the Advanced Manufacturing Center's welding component, but primarily to buy the welding booths and tables and some funds for facilities upgrades. The total cost $1,309,670.
But taken together the three requests total $1,531,169. The total grant is for $1.5 million.
Commissioners said they like all three projects and in order to seek funding for all of them decided to reduce the schools' and WCC's requests by $15,584.50 each in order to include the Fremont project.
Applications are due to Golden LEAF today. Wayne County Manager George Wood said he planned to have the paperwork hand-delivered.
The public schools' project would bring seven middle schools' technology infrastructures up to industry standards.
It also would use an instructional technology specialist, a digital teaching and learning coach and a STEM instructional learning coach to provide professional development support to instructional staff at the targeted schools.
Wayne Community College is establishing a state-of-the art welding center at the Advanced Manufacturing Center that would expand training capacity by 50 percent.
WCC would use the money to purchase 20 welding booths and four welding tables with commensurate physical plant renovations for the welding certificate and diploma program.
In the Fremont project, Renewal Place will rehab houses for low-income families. It has attained the first house and after rehabbing, it will be sold to a low-income family. The profit will be used to rehab the next of the 20 houses in the plan that will take three to five years to complete.