Village Files Application for $2.9M in AMLER Funding

Funds to be Utilized for Downtown Revitalization

RUTLAND—Mayor Tyler Eblin announced today the Village of Rutland has filed a formal application with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mineral Resources Management for $2,991,582 in funding through Abandoned Mine Land Economic Development Project.

If awarded, funding will be utilized to implement the Rutland Streetscape Improvement Project. Mayor Eblin explains the scope of the project is phased and will vary based on the amount of AMLER funds received, however, phase components include the replacement of sidewalks along State Route 124 from 427 Main Street to Larkin Street (phase I); the construction of traffic calming measures with curb ramps, sensory pavers and crosswalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (phase II); the installation of sidewalk lighting (phase III); the planting of street trees (phase IV); and the installation of historical markers with engraved history and historical photographs of the Village (phase V). 

According to Mayor Eblin, the Rutland Streetscape Improvement Project was initially planned for funding through the Ohio Appalachian Community Grant Program, administered by the Ohio Department of Development.

The project, however, was not selected for ACGP funding. Similar projects awarded ACGP funding included those in the villages of Middleport, Pomeroy and Racine.

Mayor Eblin notes the Village has a strong nexus to abandoned coal mines, several of which are located within and adjacent to the community, rendering the Village prime for AMLER funding.

Coal mines once operational in Rutland include Mine No. 4, operated by the Blackstone Coal Company; the North Mine, operated by Maynard Coal Company; and the Pomeroy Mine, operated by the Pomeroy Coal Company.

Mayor Eblin explains AMLER funds can only be utilized for projects in communities with a nexus to abandoned coal mines and notes the application is highly competitive. The Village anticipates an application review period of up to three months.

Agencies expressing letters of support for AMLER funding earmarked for the Rutland Streetscape Improvement Project include the Gallia-Jackson-Meigs Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board, Meigs County Board of Commissioners, Meigs County Board of Developmental Disabilities, Meigs County Health Department and the Meigs County Job and Family Services.

"The Village is eager for the State to review, and Lord willing approve, our application for the funding necessary to transform our downtown," comments Mayor Eblin. "We are sincerely appreciative of all agencies who signed letters of support and to all community members and stakeholders who contributed to the success of the project's application."

To view the full application submitted to ODNR DMRM, click here: https://shorturl.at/K8YCw

To view project maps, concepts and site photographs, click here: https://shorturl.at/9AiIk

For more information, visit www.villageofrutland.org/government/office-of-the-mayor/current-issues/streetscape-improvements.