The Marion County Board has approved seeking grants that would pay for all or most of the cost of creating a county parking lot off the 200 block of North Broadway.
County employees use the two empty lots now for parking, but the surface is uneven as no improvements were made after a gas station and building that formerly held a donut shop were torn down.
Building committee chair Dr. Creighton Engel wants to turn the eyesore that is a liability into an attractive downtown facility for the county and others.
“The charging stations with the parking lot, lighting, solar backup, things like that they are going to think this is really great because we are trying to incorporate everything. And where is it? Right in the middle of town. You get exposure. We can also show that it is going to be a multi-purpose facility to put on events and stuff that happens downtown.”
The estimated cost of the parking lot is $850,000 before the addition of charging stations.
The board also seemed in agreement to provide around a 15-percent matching contribution from the building fund to further enhance the chances of getting the grant, but no final vote was taken.
The South Central Regional Planning and Development Commission has been hired at a cost of $2,500 to prepare the grant applications which are due January 10th.
