Keeping a downtown area vital and up to date is important in any community, including Osceola.
The State Historic Preservation Office, Department of Cultural Affairs, will be funding Osceola's 2013 Certified Local Government (CLG) grant application to survey and evaluate downtown Osceola. Osceola will receive $11,702 for the project.
Derek Lumsden, Osceola Chamber Main Street executive director, said the grant is great for the dowtown area.
"So, getting any money at all, but then getting that amount makes it great where we can do a lot of projects with this basic foundation," he said.
Competitive
In a letter from Paula A. Mohr, CLG coordinator, 20 CLG grant applications totaling $162,795 were received this year.
"Limited funds and the overall excellence of the applications made this an extremely competitive grant round," Mohr said.
Lumsden said, many times, an organization will apply for a certain amount for a grant, and that amount will get cut down in size.
However, he said, the money Osceola received is close to the money that was applied for originally.
"That's outstanding for a project like this," Lumsden said.
CLG grants
The CLG grants are part of the Historic Preservation Fund grant, which the federal government awards annually to Iowa to assist state and local historic preservation programs.
Lumsden said, once the official contracts are signed, an architectural historian will be hired to help administer the grant, as well as volunteer help throughout the town.
"We look forward to working with the Osceola Historic Preservation Commission on this project, and are pleased that we can provide assistance in your continuing historic preservation efforts," Mohr said.