The Muscatine County Board of Supervisors has approved a four-month extension for a neighborhood revitalization project in downtown Muscatine, Iowa. The project, which is partially funded by the county's American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, aims to revitalize the area by creating a pocket park with Wi-Fi, improving commercial and residential facades, adding additional lighting, and revitalizing five blighted properties. The county has allocated $875,000 of its ARPA funding to the project, which has a total cost of $12.5 million. The Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine, which is overseeing the project, requested the extension to complete environmental studies and finalize agreements. However, Supervisor Danny Chick voted against the extension, citing other pressing issues in the county. The county is working to meet the ARPA commitment dates and is developing a timeline to track the progress of the projects [63d4a816].
In Salt Lake City, the City Council has expressed support for a plan to revitalize the Rio Grande train station. The plan, pitched by citizen-led engineering group Via Rio Grande, aims to restore the 114-year-old depot into a vibrant transit hub, bringing patrons closer to downtown. The council offered their support to the plan, which is still in the idea phase, in a vote on Tuesday night. Councilman Arlyn Bradshaw praised the citizen-led proposal for its thorough research and detailed approach. The support for the Rio Grande plan aligns with ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Salt Lake City and prepare for the 2034 Olympic Games. Via Rio Grande will host a public event on September 12th to provide more information about the plan [dfe8836d].