LOGAN CO. – Two historic buildings in Logan County are two steps from receiving $450,000 in grants from the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Both have been notified that appropriations bill SB310, which includes grants for Veterans Memorial Hall in Bellefontaine and the West Liberty Town Hall, is being sent to the Ohio legislature for approval. If passed and signed by the governor, the county commissioners will receive an award of $300,000 for renovation of Memorial Hall and the West Liberty Historical Renovation Committee will receive $150,000 for renovation of the second floor Opera House in West Liberty’s Town Hall.
Veterans services are housed in Memorial Hall, located behind the Logan County Courthouse, built in 1894. The Village of West Liberty and Liberty Township of Logan County have offices on the first floor in the Town Hall, built in 1869. The restoration committee has been working more than five years to completely restore the Town Hall. The Opera House restoration, the last of three construction phases, is estimated to cost $500,000.
“Our goal is to have the restoration done by the village’s bicentennial celebration in July, 2017,” said Committee Treasurer Joyce Woodruff. West Liberty resident Grayson Atha is chairman of the campaign. Donations can be sent to P.O. Box 159 in West Liberty.
State grants are awarded on a two-year cycle. Champaign County had no projects on the latest funding list. In the past, such funds from the state bolstered the Champaign Family YMCA. Clark County is on track to receive nearly $1.8 million in funds to boost Clark State Community College facilities, including downtown parking and the performing arts center.
