By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
Commercial property owners in the Village of Waterford could soon have an opportunity to receive grant money to spruce up exterior signs and facades.
After several months of discussion, the Village Board last week voted in favor of allocating $60,000 toward the grant program. Costs will be covered by reserves in the village’s fund balance.
The board decided to offer grants of up to $5,000 per address, meaning up to 12 loans will potentially be made available.
The board had initially proposed limiting the grant dollars toward the Heritage District in the village’s downtown region. But since taxpayer money is involved, the effort is being made available to all businesses.
While specific dollar amounts have been set in stone, other finite details are still in progress. The board plans to hammer out specific guidelines with input from the Absolutely Waterford organization.
Village officials were unanimously in favor of placing parameters on the types of work that would be permissible within the scope of the grant program. While the Heritage District already has strict zoning restrictions, they are not as firm elsewhere in the village.
“We don’t want someone to paint their building purple, outside the Heritage District, and then take the money,” Trustee Judy Spencer said.
Village President Tom Roanhouse agreed with the importance of having set guidelines in place.
“The door swings both ways,” he said.
“If you want to play the game, you have to play by the rules. Since it’s taxpayer money, that’s the way we have to do this.”
Plans call for having a Design Committee in place to review grant applications. Village Attorney Marcia Hasenstab said an ordinance would need to be drafted and approved to create such a committee.
Based on preliminary details, successful applicants would receive the grant money through a reimbursement process. This means each applicant would have to front his or her own money initially.
It also is likely the village’s building inspector would have to review any enhancements before the grant dollars are disbursed.
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