Parish racks up $36 million in grants in only 3 years

St. Charles Parish obtained $100,000 in state appropriated funding to go toward construction of a new emergency operations center. The parish is moving forward with plans to construct the 12,900-square-foot facility across the street from the courthouse.

Securing grant dollars for critical projects and innovative programs has been a major goal of Parish President V.J. St. Pierre’s administration from the start.

Three years later, parish officials have announced that they have obtained $36.7 million in such funding, from federal, state and private sources. Nearly $26 million has come in the form of competitive grants, meaning applications for the funding were rated against applications from other entities seeking funds from the same source.

Grants Officer Holly Fonseca coordinates Grants Office efforts with all parish departments and the Parish Council to seek out and apply for grants, ensuring the parish meets often-rigorous requirements for the funding.

“It’s been a busy three years, but there’s always more that can be done for this parish,” she said. “The Grants Office staff is ready and able to take on any additional funding opportunities that arise for projects or programs fitting the parish government’s mission.”

Other grants come in the form of allocations ($8.6 million) and state appropriations through support from Rep. Gary Smith and Sen. Joel Chiasson ($2.2 million).

Funding obtained in 2010 include a bevy of projects to improve infrastructure and drainage, increase government efficiency and enhance quality of life for residents for a total of $18.2 million. The grants are:

•Bonnet Carre Spillway Boat Launch and Parking Lot Improvements (Montz) – $125,000

•Lakewood Pump Station Automatic Bar Screen Cleaners (Luling) -$1,448,724

•Trash Bash Event (Parishwide) -$10,000

•Rathborne Park Development, Phase I (Luling) – $150,000

•Construction of New Driver’s License Bureau (Hahnville) – $151,831

•Courthouse HVAC Equipment Retrofit (Hahnville) – $353,000

•West Bank Phase III Multi-Use Path (Davis Drive to Davis Diversion) (Luling) – $41,749

•Consolidated Pump Stations, Auto Bar Screen Cleaners and Pump Station Capacity Increase Projects (Boutte, Norco, St. Rose, New Sarpy) – $11,109,764

•Consolidated Culvert Improvement Projects (Destrehan, Luling, Bayou Gauche) – $4,336,486

•New Animal Shelter Construction (Luling) – $300,000

•Construction of New Emergency Operations Center (Hahnville) – $100,000

•Recreation Equipment Storage Facility (Luling) – $139,000

In addition, the Grants Office offers limited assistance to those in the community interested in applying for grants for private businesses, non-profits or individuals.

While the office cannot prepare applications for non-governmental entities, it can offer information on available funding. Those requesting help for personal needs are referred to the Department of Community Services, which administers federally funded programs to assist those meeting certain eligibility requirements.

For more information about grant funding in St. Charles Parish, visit stcharlesparish-la.gov/grants.