County to give Girard grant funds to help downtown
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GIRARD -- A grant program helped business owners in Girard's downtown pay for renovations and because there were more projects than money, Trumbull County is using more of its Community Development Black Grant funds to continue the program.
The $300,000 Downtown Revitalization grant the county received in 2015 will have paid for portions of 28 projects by the time the program comes to an end in August.
Of the $535,000 CDBG allocation funds the county obtained for six projects in 2017 and 2018, $120,000 will go toward Girard revitalization. The money will go toward projects businesses applied for under the 2015 funds, but weren't selected, said Julie Green, grants manager for the county.
"There was a lot of interest in this program. Overall, it was a success. But more people applied for the funds than we could award," Green said.
Girard Mayor James Melfi said the program is helping businesses that remain downtown, after losing so many first to malls, and later to online and big box retail stores.
"We all recognize that our traditional small city downtowns have been struggling. And we want so much to support the business owners down there," Melfi said. "The city wants and needs them, and it is important to show them that."
The program brought new roofs, doors, windows, heating and cooling systems, signs and lighting to businesses -- the projects had to reduce the appearance of blight in the downtown area.
"Something important to note is, these are buildings that range in age from the late 1800s to the 1950s. So we have to modernize the buildings, which is not an easy thing to do," Melfi said.
A business owner himself, Melfi used $4,570 toward decorative lighting at Melfi and Santangelo Pizza Parlor and Italian Deli on North State Street.
A third-generation funeral director at Kinnick Funeral Home's Girard Chapel, Jillian Kinnick said the grant came at a good time for the business where she works with her father Tom Kinnick and grandfather George Kinnick, partners.
The South State Street funeral home has been steadily upgrading the building since taking over in 2014, Jillian Kinnick said, and in May, it received $15,000 to put toward a $78,000 car port upgrade and improvements to the exterior of the building.
"We needed to make some major renovations. Using the grant money was a great way for us to show the city of Girard that we are here to stay, and not just for the short term," Jillian Kinnick said.
There are some strict guidelines and a lot to navigate to receive the money, Kinnick said.
But, said Bo Suich, owner of the Dairy Queen on South State Street, it was worth it to get a new electronic sign for the decades-old downtown gathering space.
The $18,147 sign was something Suich couldn't afford when he rebuilt the building seven years ago, he said.
"It wasn't in the budget at that time because of how much the bank was willing to loan out," said Suich, who took over the family business 21 years ago.
Without the grant money, the project would have waited on the "back burner," Suich said.
"So getting the grant was a good opportunity, even though it was a tedious process," Suich said.
Suich can use the new sign to advertise specials and deals in reaction to the weather or an event, and can use a computer or smart phone to program the sign to show the message, Suich said.
Suich said the Dairy Queen is more than a franchise, it has been there for more than five decades and has been a spot for athletic teams, people returning to their hometown and where many children gobbled up the sweet treats.
It feels good to get some help reinvesting in the business, Suich said.
Jillian Kinnick said she is glad the program is continuing so more businesses can take advantage of it.
"We are a part of this community, and we want to see all the business owners in this city benefit and grow," she said.
The updates the grants are helping to bring to the city's downtown is making the town look better, Melfi said. In time, that ought to draw more visitors and breathe some fresh business into Girard, Melfi said.
rfox@tribtoday.com