Grant letter has

some holes that

need addressed

In her Nov. 5 Letter To the Editor (“City Development Has Unanswered Questions”) Linda Donaldson is correct in saying that “there is more to this story than is being clearly explained in our media” regarding the city’s decision to delay until October 2010 applying for up to $400,000 in Downtown Revitalization CDBG Grants available from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD).

But Donaldson’s statement that “three Ohio cities (were) applying for two grants” and that “Main Street Portsmouth and the city were being told by folks in the Ohio Department of Development that Portsmouth was guaranteed to receive these monies” is pure nonsense. At one point 13 cities were applying, and the Ohio Department of Development cannot and will not ever “guarantee” that any city will receive grant funds until it submits a full application for full review and evaluation. To do otherwise is illegal and unethical.

The statement “our city has lost a prime economic development opportunity for nothing more than ‘politics as usual’ and useless finger pointing” is not true either. Delaying our application gives the city more time to become more competitive in program design and increase our local leveraged dollars by using other state and federal funds, which increases our chances of being awarded the full $400,000 of ODOD grant dollars possible in 2010.

The Downtown Revitalization Program is a highly competitive grant program. Competition among cities applying for Downtown monies is fierce for the limited amount of money budgeted by the ODOD every year. Successful applications balance superb program design, cohesive overall strategy and local leveraged dollars. And from all indications, Portsmouth’s application would have ranked low in amount of leveraged dollars in comparison with other cities competing for the same funds. So we decided to delay the application until next year.

To make the city’s next Downtown application more competitive in leveraged funds, Mayor Kalb intended to bring the long awaited Boneyfiddle streetscape project to life in phases by applying for the first $1 million of an estimated $3 million dollars needed from a number of available state and federal grants beginning January 2010. Using the soon-to-be-completed Jacobs Engineering Strategic Plan as its blueprint, the city planned on starting to restore the sidewalks, street furniture and lighting on Second Street, Front Street and Market Square to their former glory, finishing within the next six years, making them showplaces of beauty that will once again welcome and attract businesses, residents and tourists alike.

Proposed Program design improvements include using all CDBG monies invested in eligible Boneyfiddle properties as either a non-repayable grant if the property owner stays in that building and maintains it for a minimum period of years, or as a loan to be paid back to the city for the CDBG portion should a property owner seek to sell their property once improvements have been made. Delaying application to next year also allows us use additional CDBG dollars to pay for a certified building inspector to do a comprehensive inspection of eligible buildings in the Boneyfiddle business district. This would yield a comprehensive list of safety and code violations and prioritize repairs to be done first using the $400,000 CDBG downtown grant monies.

Donaldson is correct in saying that there are “state level people who want to help Portsmouth help itself.” I was one of 11 community development officials from across Ohio invited by ODOD to participate in the recent Downtown Revitalization Advisory Committee meeting held in Columbus. Portsmouth literally had a “seat at the table” in giving local input into the planning of the 2010 Downtown program design and application materials — the very same grant program we passed on applying to this year. Not only did I get to voice our wants and needs to the state administrators of the Downtown program, I learned that five other small cities across Ohio also delayed applying to the 2009 Downtown Revitalization Program for reasons similar to ours.

Unlike Ms. Donaldson, I am not a lifelong resident of Portsmouth. I made a choice to come here in 1988 and make this community my home. I am proud of my record of achievement as a community development professional beginning in 1990, when I was appointed as Grants Technician in the Community Development Department. From 1990 to 1997 our team brought in over $10 million dollars to Portsmouth and won two Governor’s Awards of Excellence for Program Design. Between then and now I also served as Project Planning Director for the new Portsmouth City Schools planning effort.

Like Donaldson, I too am an “ardent supporter” of Main Street Portsmouth. In 2003, as a private citizen, I was a founding member of (and helped name) the Boneyfiddle Historic Preservation Society, the precursor to today’s Main Street Portsmouth.

Daniel Saez

Community Development Director

City of Portsmouth

Symphony is a Portsmouth treasure

Our Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra is a Portsmouth treasure! If you haven’t settled back into your seat and let their music envelop you, you are missing something wonderful.

Carl Daehler gives the audience gems of musical knowledge as he speaks of the chosen pieces. And then the music begins. The orchestra members become one. Their talent and dedication shines. You leave the theater with a smile on your face and music dancing in your head.

Please, everyone, take advantage of this. Go to every concert. You will be glad that you did. And take your children and grandchildren. They will be so enriched.

Thank you to each member of our wonderful orchestra. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for bringing such enjoyment, culture, and class to Portsmouth, Ohio. You are amazing.

Karen DiTraglia

Portsmouth