County officials seek $5.3 million for U.S. 250; $1.7 million secured

Friday, 22 September 2006

By TOM JACKSON
tomjackson@sanduskyregister.com

Erie County officials made their pitch Thursday for state funding for the U.S. 250 corridor project, but they'll have to wait until December to see if the $5.3 million check is in the mail.

Planner Steve Poggiali, local tourism chief Joan Van Offeren and District 3 transportation planner Kenneth Wright were allowed 15 minutes to make their case at a hearing in Independence, near Cleveland, as they sought $5.3 million of Ohio Transportation Review Advisory Council funds.

Securing the grant would secure the final dollars needed to pay for a $14 million project to revamp U.S. 250 in Perkins Township and Sandusky. Plans call for better traffic signals, improved intersections with additional turn lanes, new sidewalks, an aesthically-pleasing visitor entrance and other work designed to speed traffic down Milan Road, reduce accidents and give visitors a better impression of the area.

Meanwhile, Erie County's commissioners approved an agreement Thursday securing $1.7 million of bed tax money for the project, ending months of talks between the county commissioners and the Sandusky-Erie County Visitor and Convention Bureau. Van Offeren is the executive director of the organization.

Poggiali said the delegation got no feedback from state officials. He said he believes chances are good Erie County will get the TRAC money.

"I think they're probably as good as any of the other projects there," he said.

Grant announcements are expected in December, he said.

Construction would begin in 2013, with preparation work to be carried out before then, such as drawing up construction plans.

The new bed tax agreement approved Thursday will last for 10 years. It will go into effect next summer, when the county auditor certifies debt from the last U.S. 250 improvement has been paid off, said Gary Lickfelt, chief legal counsel for the commissioners.

The county collects a 2 percent tax on hotel rooms. Under the agreement, the first 1 percent will go to the Visitor Convention Bureau. So will the second 1 percent, with the exception of $1.7 million, or about $170,000 a year, which will be applied to the U.S. 250 project, Lickfelt said.

If private property owners along U.S. 250 can be persuaded to contribute $300,000 for a sidewalk project, that money will be subtracted from the $1.7 million, with the money saved going to the visitor and convention bureau, Lickfelt said.

Other sources for the $14 million needed include $5 million already secured from the Ohio Department of Transportation and $2 million of local funds from the Metropolitan Planning Organization.

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