By Katie Kotowski
The Governor’s Office of Appalachia recently announced that the Ohio Department of Development would be awarding $70,000 to the Mayors’ Partnership for Progress as a part of the Local Government Services and Regional Collaboration Grant.
The Mayors’ Partnership for Progress brings together over 60 villages and cities in 11 counties in Ohio Appalachia to share information and resources and to tackle common issues faced by municipalities.The grant was the result of a proposal submitted by the group who plans to use the money to conduct a feasibility study of a Rural Resource Alliance in the Ohio Appalachian area.The City of Marietta will receive the grant, serving as the lead agency and fiscal agent.The Alliance would allow the Partnership to leverage resources and technical assistance while working together to apply technology to economic development, green initiatives, and infrastructure effectively.Funding from the study may have application for Mayors in communities throughout Ohio Appalachia and rural areas across Ohio.
“With the limited resources that many of our partners have, particularly when you talk about the villages, it is imperative that we collaborate and join forces to bring more opportunity and efficiency to government,” said Mayor Mullen of Marietta.“This allows us to explore our partnerships and the economies through many players as opposed to each of us standing alone,” said Mullen. Mayor Mullen serves as the current President of the Mayors’ Partnership for Progress.
Moving forward, the Partnership will begin gathering information from it members and discussing priorities for the group.As they prioritize the needs of the members and identify the desired deliverables of the program through the feasibility study, the group hopes to concurrently commence work on projects and collaborations to begin taking advantage of the opportunities of the Rural Resource Alliance.
The Mayor’s Partnership for Progress is hosted by Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs and benefits from ongoing technical support from the School.