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April 19, 2012 For more information, contact:
Delta Regional Authority grant application deadline is May 29 ST. JAMES—The Delta Regional Authority has announced the availability of grant funds for qualifying projects in the Delta Region, and the Meramec Regional Planning Commission is accepting grant applications for the current round of funding. MRPC is the Local Development District for the DRA and is responsible for providing information and technical assistance on the grant process. MRPC is responsible for making local governments and nonprofits aware of the grant opportunity and to assist them with the preparation of applications. Applications must be submitted electronically to MRPC by May 29, 2012. MRPC hosted a public information forum April 13 to review the grant process and detail deadlines and qualifying criteria. For additional information on this process, contact Kelly Sink-Blair at MRPC at 573-265-2993 or by email at kellysb@meramecregion.org. The Delta Regional Authority, created in 1999, is a federal-state partnership serving 240-counties in eight states. Four Meramec counties—Crawford, Dent, Phelps and Washington counties—are in the area designated as the Delta Region. DRA has a total allocation of $1,093,873.93 in federal grant funds to Missouri for FY 2012. This is 11.55 percent of the total allocation of nearly $9.5 million for the Delta Region. Led by Federal Co-Chairman Chris Masingill and the governors of each participating state, the DRA is designed to remedy severe and chronic economic distress by stimulating economic development and fostering partnerships that will have a positive impact on the region’s economy. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon serves as the states’ co-chairman for DRA. The DRA will help economically distressed communities to leverage other federal and state programs that are focused on basic infrastructure development and transportation improvements, basic public services improvements, business development, and job training services. Grant requests to DRA must address one of these initiatives. DRA is an independent federal agency with a mission to provide assistance to economically distressed counties in the Mississippi Delta Region, as designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce. Formed in 1969, MRPC is a voluntary council of governments serving Crawford, Dent, Gasconade, Maries, Osage, Phelps, Pulaski and Washington counties and their respective cities. Officers are Chairman Russell Scheulen of Osage County, Vice Chairman Gary Brown of Salem, Secretary T.R. Dudley of Potosi and Treasurer Mary Heywood of Bourbon. A professional staff of 29, directed by the MRPC board, offers technical assistance and services, such as grant preparation and administration, housing assistance, transportation planning, environmental planning, ordinance codification, business loans and other services to member communities upon request. Persons needing more information should contact Sink-Blair at MRPC at (573) 265-2993 or by email at kellysb@meramecregion.org. |