Brookfield trustees have been confirming addresses in lower Masury as part of the legwork needed to apply for a Neighborhood Stabilization Grant with the help of Trumbull County.

Trustees would like to apply for federal funds available through the state that could be used for projects such as street paving, curbs, sidewalks, storm sewers and the creation of a park. But, the money is only available in areas where a majority of residents earn low and moderate incomes, said Trumbull County Grants Manager Julie Green.

The address verification effort is the precursor to trustees conducting an income survey of residents, and trustees have talked about holding a public meeting to introduce the project to residents.

The target area boundaries are Route 62 to the north and west, Standard Avenue to the east, the Hubbard Township line to the south and Bedford Road to the southwest.

Resident input also would drive the specific projects targeted in the grant, Green said.

“What they want to see is you talking to the residents to see what they want done,” she told trustees Nov. 6. “I know you have a good idea of the needs of the neighborhood, but we have to document through a very long process that we collect what they want done and we select projects based on those prioritized needs.”

The grant is available for neighborhoods in which at least 51 percent of residents earn low or moderate incomes. Township trustees plan to knock on doors to present residents a short survey that includes asking for household income. Green said she will produce a list of households to visit based on a random selection process.

“It’s a highly competitive grant through the state of Ohio Development Services Agency,” Green said.

Although the application deadline is in June, there is a lot of legwork that has to be done before the application can be submitted, she said.

Trustees have been examining lower Masury in hopes of preparing a plan to alleviate flooding, particularly between Second and Third streets. This grant will not take care of the problem in total, but could help the effort and pave the way for future projects.

There is up to $500,000 that could be awarded, and that could be eaten up up installing a storm water detention basin, one of  theoptions for alleviating flooding, said Trumbull County Deputy Engineer Gary Shaffer.

“If you’re spending the majority of the funding on one activity, that’s not a fit for (a) Neighborhood Revitalization (Grant),” Green said. “They want you to look at three to five activities.”

There are other grant funds available that the trustees might be able to use to solve the larger flooding issue, she said.

Under the current income guidelines, to qualify as low or moderate income, a single person has to make less than $34,000, a family of four less than $49,100, and a family or six less than $57,000.

The trustees will meet with Green at 4 p.m. Dec. 17 to further discuss the project