City of Knox Receives a $20,000 Planning Grant

Mayor Dennis Estok told Knox City Council members last week that the city is the recipient of a grant worth $20,000.

The city received the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and according to the Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the planning grant is funded with money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. OCRA says the goal of the program is to encourage communities to plan for long-term community development.

Mayor Estok said that CDBG funds will be spent to cover the cost of services being provided by the Troyer Group, the architecture and planning firm assisting city officials with the construction of the Knox Parks 5-Year Master Plan.

During a public hearing held earlier this month, Troyer Group representative Mike Reese explained that the next step in this process is to collect and analyze the results of the 257 web surveys that were completed and combine those with suggestions made during the shareholder meetings and the first public hearing.

He said a draft plan will then be constructed and another public hearing will be held in January in order to gather public feedback about the proposed ideas. The draft plan is due to the Department of Natural Resources by January 15th and the final plan is due by April 15th. If everything is turned in on time, the city will be eligible for more grant funding to help pay for park upgrades included in the plan.