Joyce Secures $23 Million for Local Projects in Draft 2023 Spending Bills

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) announced that he successfully secured $23,058,890 for local projects across Northeast Ohio in Fiscal Year 2023 funding bills recently advanced by the House Appropriations Committee. Funding included in the bills for these local projects is allocated within their respective agency program accounts and does not raise the overall spending level of the bill. The projects, along with the amount of federal funding Joyce secured for them in the drafted Appropriations bills, are listed below by county.

“As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I take seriously the responsibility to not only scrutinize federal spending but also to direct it where it’s needed most back home,” said Joyce. “I was proud to submit these important funding requests on behalf of our Northeast Ohio community and will continue working to ensure they are included in the final legislative package that is passed by Congress and signed into law.”

Portage County

Hiram Workforce Office: $665,000

• Joyce secured this funding to help accelerate the launch of a workforce readiness program at Hiram College. Like many states, Ohio currently has more job openings than workers to fill them. The Office of Workforce Development and Civic Engagement to be developed as a result of this funding will help address this gap by providing an array of new certificate and degree programs that directly respond to the upskilling and retraining needs of the Northeast Ohio workforce.

Ashtabula County

Ashtabula County Medical Center Patient Care Tower: $3,000,000

• Joyce secured this funding to help the Ashtabula County Medical Center provide rural residents of Ashtabula County and the extended region with expanded access to quality healthcare and improve the timely manner in which they are able to obtain critical healthcare services. Specifically, it will be used to construct a new four story, 115,000 square foot patient care tower, and meet the associated equipment needs like patient monitors, stretchers, beds, procedure carts, and surgical systems. 

University Hospital Jefferson Rural Health Clinic: $1,500,000

• This federal funding secured by Joyce will support the renovation a building in Jefferson, Ohio to serve as a newly established Rural Health Clinic (RHC) for Ashtabula County. This project will stabilize access to primary care providers and expand specialized services for local residents, provide additional healthcare options for more patients, including those from the southern area of the county, create roughly 30 additional jobs, and aid in the recruitment and retention of health professionals in the county. 

Conneaut Harbor Dredging: $2,470,000

• Joyce requested this federal funding to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in completing dredging of Conneaut Harbor, which requires approximately 40,000 cubic yards of dredging every year to maintain the navigation channel. This harbor is critical to the Great Lakes region’s economy, receiving important commodities for the region including coal, iron ore, aggregates, limestone, ores, and minerals.

Lake County

Lake County Free Clinic: $100,000

• This federal funding secured by Joyce will provide for the Lake County Free Clinic’s purchase of upgraded medical equipment, improved technology and telecommunications systems, and allow for expansion of services in a new facility. Expanding this clinic is critical to providing residents in Lake County with access to medical care. Local studies indicate one in 11 northeast Ohioans are underserved for their healthcare needs, including more than 40,000 people in Lake County Free Clinic’s service area.

State Route 84 Resurfacing: $849,000

• Joyce secured this federal funding to support the resurfacing of Bishop/Ridge Road (State Route 84) through the city limits. The project, which would begin at the Interstate 90 entrance/Exit ramp at Bishop Road and continue northeasterly to the Willoughby Corporation line near State Route 91, is essential to the economic, health and safety areas for the Local and County Government as this section of road provides access to all surrounding Cities for emergency, recreational, hospitality, resident, and local businesses.

Old Town Sewer Project: $820,890

• This federal funding was secured by Joyce to help the City of Kirtland replace failing septic systems that are leaching high levels of E-Coli into local storm drainage with a new sewer system. The project consists of decommissioning 132 septic systems and replacing them with a new sewer system connected to each affected property, which will help maintain the health of residents and tourists alike, the Chagrin River, and ultimately Lake Erie.

Fairport Harbor Dredging: $2,796,000

• Joyce secured this federal funding to support the USACE in completing dredging of Fairport Harbor, a deep draft commercial harbor which requires approximately 150,000 cubic yards of dredging every other year to maintain the navigation channel. This funding will also ensure that dredging can continue in compliance with the new Ohio open lake placement ban which was put in place to protect water quality in Lake Erie. 

Cuyahoga County 

Cleveland Clinic Eastern Region Forensic Nursing Construction and Equipment: $615,000

• This funding Joyce secured will help the Cleveland Clinic create a sexual assault nurse examiners (SANE) program within the emergency department at Mentor Hospital. This project would provide quality, trauma-informed and compassionate care to victims of sexual assault, human and sex trafficking, domestic violence, elder abuse and neglect while also improving the quality of evidence collection. There is currently no SANE program in Lake County.

Geauga County

Auburn Road Resurfacing: $1,200,000

• The federal funding Joyce secured for this project will support the resurfacing of 4.20 miles of Auburn Road from Chardon Road (US 6) to Colburn Road (Lake/Geauga County Line), in Geauga County. The project is necessary as the roadway, which is essential for regional mobility and safe commercial travel, has deteriorated to condition of poor and is beyond its useful life. The project will consist of constructing surface and subsurface repairs, curbing, drainage inlet and guardrail improvements, and surface milling and resurfacing of the entire roadway. 

Cuyahoga I-77 / Miller Road Interchange: $5,000,000

• Joyce secured this federal funding to support the completion of the Miller Road interchange with I77. Currently, the interchange only provides a southbound exit and a northbound entrance ramp. This project will improve access to a national freight system highway, improve safety for vehicles, and support local economic development

Washington Street Resurfacing: $1,000,000

• This federal funding was secured by Joyce to improve 3.5 miles of roadway from Chillicothe Road (SR 306) to Bainbridge Road (CH 0011). The project will include surface and subsurface repairs, curbing, drainage inlet and guardrail improvements, and surface milling and resurfacing of the entire roadway. This project is critical to improving the safety of travelers and residents of the County as these sections of Washington Street have an average daily traffic of 9000-10,000, and rank among the highest traveled segments of roads in the County and serve many commercial and community services.

Chagrin Floodplain Restoration and Protection Project: $2,323,000

• Joyce secured this federal funding to restore and preserve 185 acres along the Chagrin River that have been affected by substantial streambank erosion and nutrient inputs. These inputs are contributing to sediment build-up threatening the river’s aquatic life and threatening the stability of State Route 84. The project would implement and meet many of the goals of the 2020 Ohio Nonpoint Source Management Plan, which is critical to controlling nonpoint sources of water quality impairment. 
  

Geauga County Services Center Water System Upgrade: $520,000

• This federal funding secured by Joyce will help provide a 50,000-gallon backup water storage tank and upgrade the ancillary water pumps and piping at the Geauga County Services Center. Not only is this project essential to meet the demands of the new Geauga County Administration Building and other County Offices, but it also critical to patients and healthcare providers at University Hospitals Geauga Campus as an emergency source of potable water

District-Wide

Ohio Fire and Emergency Services Foundation: $200,000

• Joyce secured this federal funding to support the Ohio Fire and Emergency Services Foundation cover the cost of 16 training events across the state of Ohio, including two in OH-14. These trainings provide peer to peer education trainings firefighters and administrative staff working at fire departments to deal with mental health issues. These trainings are essential to addressing the high level of suicide risk, PTSD, and other mental challenges plaguing public servants in fire departments in Northeast Ohio and across the Buckeye State.

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