Painting the Towns
Kelly Gourley, executive director of the Lincoln County Economic Development Foundation (LCEDF) has been busy helping county communities put color in their cheeks as well as all over their business districts.
“Beautiful transformations are starting to come together as we spruce up every Lincoln County community’s main street and important features. Westfall, Barnard and Sylvan Grove have been in progress in the last month. Looking ahead, projects will begin next month in Denmark and Vesper, and later in the summer, projects will also get underway for Beverly and Lincoln,” Gourley said in a recent e-mail.
Volunteers in Sylvan Grove met Tuesday, May 30 to finish up. Prep work will begin in Denmark July 15 with July 22 set as paint day. Work will be done in Lincoln in July (July 22 for prep and July 29 for paint) as well as August (August 29 for prep and August 26 for paint). Also in August, Beverly will do prep work on August 5 and paint on August 9.
“It works best when many hands of volunteers come together to share talents, tools and time together making a community better,” said Gourley. “Sign up online to help with the prepping and painting, or even just to bring food to keep volunteers going and receive reminder notifications for the planned workdays. Follow along on our social media channels to see the before and after pictures as they are available.
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Housing Rehabilitation program A $300,000 housing grant through the CDBG Housing Rehabilitation program was awarded to the City of Lincoln. The CDBG grant helps property owners within a target area of the city with the demolition of dilapidated structures and the rehabilitation of owner- and renter-occupied houses by replacing roofs, windows and siding, adding insulation, repairing foundations, upgrading electrical and mechanical systems, repairing porches, etc.
The deadline for applications for this grant is August 15, 2023. Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis until funding has been exhausted.
“There is funding available for approximately three rehabilitation projects and four demolitions projects,” said Gourley.
The target area is bordered by 4th Street, Lost Street, South Street and the city limits. Properties on both sides of those border streets are also eligible. Applications are available only in hard copy and can be picked up at City Hall. Once completed, the application with original signatures must be turned into City Hall. Emailed applications cannot be accepted. Applications are not considered complete and will not be put in the queue for funding until all required documentation has been submitted.
