North Canton, Canton and Canal Fulton receive federal money for capital projects
North Canton, Canton and Canal Fulton are receiving an infusion of federal money to help with capital projects.
Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, on Monday presented a large ceremonial check for $500,000 to Mayor Stephan Wilder to symbolize the $500,000 federal earmark she helped the city get to help fund the drilling of a water well at the city's Arrowhead golf course later this year.
She presented a ceremonial check on Tuesday for $2.19 million to Canton Mayor William Sherer II. It symbolizes the earmark Canton will receive to help pay for its East Tuscarawas streetscape project.
Also approved were $500,000 for an elevated water storage tank project in Canal Fulton and $963,000, down from the requested $5 million, to fund the purchase of cruisers for police departments in Stark and Summit counties within the 13th Congressional District.
Sykes said the House Appropriations Committee denied the Akron-Canton Airport's request for $2.4 million to construct a 10,850-square-foot area to park planes and place a hangar. She indicated the Federal Aviation Administration had objected to the project. Sykes said she'll continue to seek funding for that project.
Sykes had submitted 15 projects to receive community funding from the House Appropriations Committee. Ultimately, the committee and its counterpart in the Senate chose to fund $14.9 million for 12 of the projects. The earmarks made it into budget bills signed into law by President Joe Biden last month.
The other projects are in Summit County.
"And whenever I can find your tax dollars and bring them back to this community for the benefit of the people of the 13th Congressional District, that is what I'm going to do," Sykes said in a ceremony at the North Canton Civic Center.
Federal money requested: U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes seeking federal funding for 4 Stark County projects
Congressional earmarks are back
Congress eliminated earmarks for 10 years but the then-Democratic House brought them back in 2021 under revamped rules. Republicans on taking control of the House in 2023 opted to keep them.
"They have been working since they've been brought back because they have more guardrails around them," said Sykes, referring to rules that for example require earmarks be requested by local governments. She said people can feel more reassured that "these aren't just slush-fund projects that have no meaningful impact to the communities."
Sykes said the House Appropriations Committee has not yet set a firm deadline on community project funding for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The committee may issue new guidelines. So she encouraged local governments to contact her office about the process.
North Canton Public Policy Analyst Benjamin Young said in addition to the $500,000 federal earmark, the Arrowhead water well project also has received $1.5 million from the Ohio Public Works Commission, with $300,000 of that being a no-interest loan. And another half a million dollars will be funded by North Canton's water customers.
He said a consultant's testing shows that the water aquifer under Arrowhead is more free of salt contaminants than the North Canton water system's wells at Dressler Road NW, which get runoff with salting from roads. The city's water system has five aquifers and the Arrowhead well, with a decades-long supply of water, would replace the aquifer by Dressler. Young expects the drilling of the water well to take place by this fall.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X formerly Twitter: @rwangREP.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Congresswoman Emilia Sykes presents ceremonial check to North Canton
