St John awarded over $1 million in stimulus funds for road projects
ST JOHN – St. John was recently notified that it had been awarded over $1 million in grant proceeds through the state's Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). The additional funding was available due to stimulus funds given to the state for 'shovel-ready' projects. The two projects that will be completed with the funding include two street projects. In Reserve, Northwest 2nd Street will be resurfaced from Railroad Avenue to the Kasas City Southern Rail line at an estimated cost of $662,700. The CDBG funds amount to $564,000 and a local match of $98,700 is required. In Garyville, Historic East Street will be resurfaced at an estimated cost of $645,200. The CDBG funds amount to $548,000 and a local match of $97,200 is required. The total cost of the two projects is $1,307,000 with only $195,900 coming from the parish's budget.
These two projects were applied for during the 2009 CDBG funding cycle and the notice of award was received in September. The project will be bid following the purchasing policies and procedures required by the CDBG program. In order to qualify for funding, projects in the CDBG program must meet several requirements. The main requirement is that the project must benefit an area comprised of a majority of low to moderate income households.
"We are excited to received this additional funding and look forward to fast tracking these projects so the residents of Reserve and Garyville will see improvements come to their area," said acting Parish President Pat McTopy.
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