Major Improvements

Today I worked in the Ashtabula City Community Development office.  The City is applying for three different grants, all of which will help the Ashtabula Harbor.  This morning I spent time organizing the paper work for each grant and going over checklists to see what still needs to be collected.  It is important to fill out each application correctly or else the proposals will be disqualified.  While it was not super exciting work, I was able to give the project administrator, Mary Church, time to work on more crucial things.  My reward for a morning of paperwork was getting to do a sight visit at a local beach where they are doing improvement work on a public pavilion and snack bar.  This beach is just down the hill from the harbor and will be key to attracting people to the area.  I had not been to the pavilion for about two years because it was previously so run down.  It was exciting to see the place freshened up with new paint, power washed flowers, and renovated bathrooms.  Working in the Community Development Office made me feel good about the Harbor’s future.  Ashtabula is so often called incompetent or too poor to make improvements.  But, this spring, Mary is juggling four major projects that will all have a significant impact on our target area.  While things may be slow to get started, with the help of Mary and other community leaders, the ball for improvement finally seems to be moving fast.