The Ohio Public Works Commission provides funding for road, bridge, culvert, water, wastewater, solid waste, and storm water facility projects in District 18 which includes Athens, Belmont, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, and Washington counties.
Buckeye Hills serves as the liaison for District 18 of the State Capital Improvement/Local Transportation Improvements Programs (SCIP/LTIP), funded by the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC).
Over the past twenty years, the SCIP/LTIP Program has invested approximately $140 million in District 18 to assist local governments in developing infrastructure.
Eligible applicants from Athens, Belmont, Hocking, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, and Washington Counties may apply for funding to support repair/replacement, expansion, and/or installation of the following types of infrastructure projects:
*Sanitary and Water/Sewer Districts must be a public entity, not a private company (61-19 ORC)
Application deadline: Fiscal Year 2026 (Round 39) Applications are due August 30, 2024.
PLEASE NOTE: Applications are required to be submitted through the OPWC Workwise Portal. In addition to the portal, one hard copy of the application must be submitted to Buckeye Hills by the deadline. If you have not yet registered to receive your portal login, please do so by visiting www.pwc.ohio.gov/WorksWise-Training. If you are having difficulty with the new portal and will be unable to meet the required deadline through the portal, please contact Jada Riley at jriley@buckeyehills.org or call 740-376-7636 as soon as possible. A hard copy of the application is due regardless, Friday, August 30, 2024, by 4:00 p.m.
In addition to the state application above, please click on your project’s category below to download the Supplemental Sheet, complete the form, and submit it with the hard copy of your application. The Supplemental Sheet is a district requirement and is used in scoring applications.
Applicants apply to their District Integrating Committees for funding. Each District Committee meets to approve projects in late fall or early winter. Once approved by the District, the District Liaison sends the approved applications to OPWC. The District Program Representative reviews all applications for compliance and prepares the agreement to be delivered on or about July 1.
On July 1 of each year, project agreements are sent electronically to the project officials via OneSpan Sign. All three project officials will receive the email with a copy of the project agreement, but only the project CEO will be prompted to sign. If there is a loan, the project CFO will also be prompted to sign the Promissory Note. Follow the link in your email, and OneSpan Sign will walk you through e-signing your agreement.
All recipients must establish a fund for each project awarded for both the OPWC assistance and the local matching funds to account for revenues and expenditures.
It is the applicant’s responsibility to verify that the vendor (consultant or contractor) has an account in the Ohio Supplier Portal. OPWC does not review bid documents but provides contractual bid documents.
It is common for project officials to change between the time of application and the time the project agreement is released. However, OPWC does not reprint project agreements to make these changes. Inform the Program Rep via email of the change needed.
Unforeseen circumstances can cause delays in construction projects. Remember, the project schedule is part of the application process. If things change, notify the Program Rep to request a schedule extension.
OPWC allows for flexibility with disbursing funds. OPWC can pay contractors directly for eligible invoices, or they can reimburse the applicant for paid invoices. The OPWC agreement is for a percentage of total project costs, up to a specific grant/loan amount. Disbursements are requested in our portal, WorksWise, and reviewed by your OPWC Program Representative for approval. When filling out disbursements maintain the local share percentage by only requesting OPWC disburse funds at our participation ratio. OPWC cannot disburse the full grant/loan amount prior to the total project costs reaching the total estimated project costs listed in the project agreement.
If you would like to pay the invoices directly, with your disbursement request submit the invoices with proof of payment (completed bank transfer by canceled check image front and back or screenshot from online bank). OPWC will then reimburse, at its participation ratio, for these eligible costs. See the OPWC Project Administration page for the Local Match Policy.
OPWC typically pays contractors directly. As part of your disbursement submittal in WorksWise, you may indicate whom you want OPWC to pay and what amount. You can visit our Public Portal for a direct link to view the status of submitted disbursement requests and payment history.
To close out a project, mark it “Final Disbursement” at the top of your disbursement submittal in WorksWise. If you forget to indicate it was the final disbursement, email your Program Rep that there are no more project costs, and the project can be closed out. If there are any remaining funds, they will be returned to the District. Remember that project agreements are written for a participation rate up to the assistance amount; therefore, the total assistance amount will be used only if the project comes in at or over budget.
Loans are moved into billing once the Program Rep closes out the project, which signals the Loan Officer to generate and complete an amortization schedule. Amortization schedules and paydown reports can be found on OPWC’s public portal for loans that are already in billing. Loan payments are due twice a year, in January and July. The CFO will be emailed a notice when loan invoices are available for download. The timing of the first loan payment will depend on the timing of when the project is closed out. View OPWC’s Loan Invoice page for more information about loan billing.
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