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PARKERSBURG -- The Wood County Commission looked over the suggestions it has received for consideration to fund through the county's American Recovery Act funds.
The commission went over almost 90 requests Thursday submitted by area residents, local officials and others in recent weeks on how the county might spend around $16.2 million it is receiving in federal funds.
The money has to be obligated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026, officials said.
Commissioners have said they are looking for things that will result in a "generational change" for the area.
The county hired the law firm of Lewis and Glasser to review potential projects to make sure the projects meet the legal definition of what the money can be used for.
Some of the things discussed Thursday included: extending the walking trail at Fort Boreman Park, expanding waterline/sewer service, providing money to non-profit groups who rely on fundraising, expanding broadband coverage, increasing the area's recreational opportunities, money for after-school programs, providing money to help low income families make needed home repairs, upgrading health department facilities, funding small business advisors, installing electric car charging stations, additional pickleball courts at local parks, improvements to the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport and more.
In expanding broadband, Commissioner Jimmy Colombo said that would be better handled by state officials in Charleston.
"We could not do that here alone," he said. "If we did that other people would be banking money off our investment."
Other ideas, like updating or upgrading the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department facilities or doing a scenic overview on the Blennerhassett Bridge, could be worked on through state officials.
"We think they have other resources to be able to do these things that we didn't think we would be capable of handling," Commission President Blair Couch said.
Commissioners talked about a number of programs in place to help with a variety of issues and additional money may not help. Officials said they have not had any food banks reach out to them yet.
Many ideas will be sent to the law firm to review to see if they meet the criteria for approval. Some ideas, like building a boardwalk on the floodwall and paying overdue fire fees and other expenses, would probably not be sent in for consideration.
The commission approved $125,000 to go to the River Road water project in Vienna from American Recovery Act funds. The project will go from 32nd to 23rd streets and tie together a number of the city's wells. Vienna officials originally asked a couple weeks ago for $450,200 from the county.
Couch said they would continue to work on and prepare a secondary list of projects that they would submit to Lewis and Glasser for review.
There will be no commission meeting on Monday in observance of Columbus Day.
Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com