Heather Regan White / The American Press
The town of Vinton received good news Tuesday, to the tune of $818,000 in state grant monies.
Mayor Kenneth Stinson said he received a phone call from Gov. John Bel Edwards’ office informing him their application for Community Development Block Grant funding had been approved.
Stinson said that given the “doom and gloom” coming out of Baton Rouge, the good news surprised him.
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“I’d like to thank our local delegation and the governor for approving this funding,” he said.
The town’s recent budget has $1 million earmarked for sewer work. Stinson said these funds will be used to begin replacing some of Vinton’s antiquated main water lines.
“We’re trying to upgrade our infrastructure,” he said. “We put a small project together and applied (for the grant) and we were very fortunate to be chosen.”
Stinson said the pubic works department has identified the problem areas and will focus on addressing those first.
“Our distribution system is where we’re having the problems,” he said. “We have good water now.”
Upgrade projects to areas like water filtration, controls, pumps, and towers, have been done at a piece-meal pace over the past decade as state funding became scarce.
Vinton’s project is one of 23 funded through the CBDG.
“The Louisiana Community Development Block Grant Program allows us to address some of the basic necessities of our people by providing funds for sewer rehabilitation projects, water and street improvements, economic development projects and other priorities,” said Gov. Edwards, in a news release. “This year, the program has provided more than $14 million in funding for repairs and upgrades statewide. It provides critical support for projects that are necessary to sustaining and improving our communities.”
‘I’d like to thank our local delegation and the governor for approving this funding.’
Kenneth Stinson
Vinton mayor
