Ashtabula County will be added to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and should reap the benefits of membership, county and federal officials said Monday.
“It’s great,” said County Commissioner Peggy Carlo. “I’m extremely ecstatic about it. It’s going to open doors to a lot of opportunities.”
U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, a proponent of the designation, said the language is contained in a federal ARC amendment already approved by the U.S. House and passed Friday by the U.S. Senate. The amendment now awaits President Bush’s signature.
Ashtabula County, along with Trumbull and Mahoning counties, will receive the designation, LaTourette said in a statement.
“This has been a long, arduous process, but we kept at it, and it’s finally going to happen,” he said.
ARC status often helps expedite local projects by making it easier to obtain federal and state funding, LaTourette said. ARC funds a variety of infrastructure projects, as well as workforce training, small-business start-ups and downtown revitalization, he said.
“I think this ARC designation will help the dollars flow into Ashtabula County,” LaTourette said in the statement.
Some people believe there’s a stigma with the ARC designation, but County Commissioner Joseph Moroski strongly disagrees.
“There’s a lot of bantering back and forth on this,” he said. “Some people believe the chief distracting point is that it makes us a part of Appalachia. But there are several of these councils.
“On balance it will be a good thing,” Moroski said. “It gives us access to extra money for infrastructure. It’s an extra pot of money to go to. (County) taxpayers are sending money to the federal government. Wouldn’t we like to get a little more back? I certainly would.”
Commissioner Daniel Claypool also believes the ARC title will carry some financial clout.
“I don’t know what it will do for us yet, but it will provide opportunities not available now,” he said. “It’s not a negative but an opportunity to become involved in projects we’re not normally involved in.”
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