A fire training facility, a prescription program and continued work on the historical jail project are the top three area development projects Lawrence County leaders are seeking funding for from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Local leaders will also seek ARC access road funding for a traffic signal project in Coal Grove.

The Lawrence County Commission, Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization representatives, Greater Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bill Dingus and other community leaders met Thursday with Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission leaders to map out plans for seeking funding in 2005.

A fire training building at Collins Career Center was given the top slot on the county's list of funding proposals. County leaders want $64,400 from the ARC to construct a facility to train area fire fighters. The total cost of the project is $138,000.

A pharmacy assistance program through the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization was the county's second pick for funding. CAO director of community development Ralph Kline said the ARC money would be used to provide a full-time staff member who would assist uninsured and underinsured patients in finding needed medication. CAO director of community projects David Michael said there are some programs out there that will provide medicine to uninsured or underinsured people, but the average person does not know where to look.

"This would provide medications to those who otherwise could not afford it," CAO director of community projects David Michael said. "We have people who come into our clinics and the doctor writes them a prescription and that's as far as it goes. They don't have the money to pay for the prescription. Some of them have to choose: 'do I buy food or buy medicine?' This would provide an office person who would help with filling out forms, fill some prescriptions on-site and work with drug manufacturers (to help find medication)."

The CAO is seeking $26,000 from the ARC for its $52,000 project. According to CAO figures, nearly half of the patient base at CAO clinics are below the poverty level or are teetering on the edge of it and almost a third are uninsured for prescription coverage.

The Historic Jail at Burlington, being made into an Underground Railroad museum, took the third spot on the county's

area development projects list. The jail committee has hired an architect.

A project to put a traffic signal at the intersection of Marion Pike and U.S. 52 in Coal Grove was the county's sole proposal for ARC

access road monies.

"We need a traffic signal there," Coal Grove Mayor Larry McDaniel said. "Every evening at 4 or 5 o'clock it's almost impossible to get off the ramp there. We've been lucky. I've not heard of any accidents though there, but it does get really congested."

That portion of the village is growing: a Wendy's restaurant and a Family Dollar store have been added within the last 18 months, creating more traffic in an already congested area. McDaniel said he gets complaints about the need for a traffic signal in that area.

County leaders will try to get planning and design money for two projects at The Point industrial park.

An inter-modal facility at

industrial park, Dingus said,

would allow products to be transferred between rail, water and roads. Dingus said The Point's location is a natural location for such a business.

"We have seven miles of rail within the industrial park," Dingus said. "If we could take some of that and hook into the trucking industry, maybe we could relieve some of the congestion on the roadways."

Dingus said the inter-modal facility is in the design stage and he did not have figures on what it would cost.

His point Thursday was to plant seeds for the future for both that project and a business incubator, which is in the earliest discussion stage. The incubator was the second planning and design project on

the county's list.

A couple of local projects that have been discussed previously but not funded were booted off the county's proposal list. Last year, Our Lady of Bellefonte Hospital requested $250,000 in ARC monies to provide health care to under-served residents.

Also, local leaders will wait to ask for ARC money to put a road and water service in the South Ironton Industrial Park. The city wanted $300,000 for the project, but Kline said right now the city does not have the required matching funds for this project and other pieces of the puzzle must be in place before the county is able to seek money for the project

Kline said local leaders must keep on their

"radar screen" the recently discussed feasibility study on opening a new hospital in the county.

"The first level (of the feasibility study) is being funded. Pending the outcome of that, we anticipate needing a full business plan and financing plan," Kline said.

Another project for future discussion is a proposal for a wastewater treatment plant that would serve approximately 300 households in the Athalia and Miller communities.

Now that county leaders have prioritized their list, they face a June 30 deadline to submit their ARC preapplications to the OVRDC. The OVRDC will rank preapplications submitted

by counties across the OVRDC district before sending the new list to Washington, D.C. for ARC consideration. The ARC funding will be made available early in 2005.