Funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help emergency response agencies in rural communities is reaching into local McKean County communities.
Kane received $27,000 as an USDA’s Economic Impact Initiative Grant, which paid for a portion of the $49,000 spent on a new police SUV.
“Actually, we received notice of this grant a while back,” said Kane Mayor Brandy Schimp. “So we now have a new police unit added to our department with our new town branding, inc. — we also adopted a new patch and logo for the police department with this unit, which is truly exciting.”
In addition to Kane, the City of Bradford received a $100,000 USDA Community Facilities Grant, in Sept. 2021, which paid for a portion of the City’s new 2022 Horton Ambulance. “We had applied for the USDA grant for the purpose of paying approximately 65% of the cost of the new ambulance and receiving it was certainly a huge help to offset expenses to the City’s budget,” said Bradford City Administrator Chris Lucco.
Elsewhere in Bradford, the Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department (BTVFD) received a loan in the amount of $604,000 and grant monies of $176,000 under the USDA’s Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant programs. The combined sum of these two programs contributed to the purchase of two new fire trucks for the Township.
The two new fire trucks were purchased in March of 2021 to replace the 2001 and 2006 trucks, which were recently retired due to age, according to Fire Chief Dan Burkhouse.
“The original delivery date for the new fire trucks was May/June of this year, however that date has already been pushed out once — so now we are expecting the new vehicles hopefully in Sept. or Oct., but I wouldn’t be surprised if shortages and shipping delays don’t push the delivery date out even further and into 2023,” explained Burkhouse.
The total cost for the two new trucks is approximately $1.2 million and although the USDA loan and grant were helpful they did not cover the entire expense of the new trucks, which has motivated the BTVFD to previously and continually raise additional funds through their Truck Fund Campaign, with raffles, 50/50’s and other fundraising events.
For more information about the two new trucks or to donate to the Truck Fund Campaign, visit the Bradford Township Volunteer Fire Department Facebook page.
Bronaugh highlighted 731 other projects that the USDA has made in five programs that fund essential community services to help rural America build back. These programs include Community Facilities Direct Loans and Grants, Community Facilities Loan Guarantees, Community Facilities Technical Assistance Training Grants, Community Facilities Disaster Grants, and Economic Impact Initiative Grants.
“These loans and grants will help rural communities invest in facilities and services that are vital to all communities, such as health care facilities, schools, libraries, and first responder vehicles and equipment. When we invest in essential services in rural America, we build opportunity and prosperity for the people who call rural communities home,” Bronaugh said.
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes. Projects must be in rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.
Interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development state office for information about additional funding, application procedures and eligibility. Also see the Community Facilities Direct Loan Program Guidance Book for Applicants for a detailed overview of the application process.
