Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission
Serving Crawford, Edwards, Lawrence, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, and White in Southeastern Illinois.
2019 Board of Directors Annual Dinner Meeting
The 2019 Board Officers and Staff
From left to right: Michael Gill, Randy Hallam, Heather Neuman, Scott Merkle, Rileigh Lear, Joe Judge, Olivia Baumgardner, Rob Anniss
Joe Judge, chairman of the board, was elected for his third term. He is looking forward to serving as chairman for another year.
Guest Speaker, Rusty Wanstreet, Area Director from USDA. Rusty spoke about the Rural Reverse project. If you like learn more about Rural Reverse, click here .


The Annual Dinner was held at the Westwood Saloon located in Grayville, IL
Mark your Calendars for the 2019 CEDS Meetings
There will be CEDS Meetings held in each county in April and May. The purpose of the meetings will be to discuss any possible project ideas in the county. Once a year, GWRPC holds a meeting to update the region's Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). Any possible project ideas need to be water, sewer, parks, firefighters, police, emergency services, etc.

County Meetings dates and times
Crawford - May 1st at the Community Center at 9:00 am
Edwards - May 22nd at GWRPC at 1:00 pm
Lawrence - May 1st at Lawrenceville City Hall at 1:00 pm
Richland - May 15th at Olney City Hall at 1:00 pm
Wabash - April 24th at the WVC Main Room Hall 101 at 1:00 pm
Wayne - May 15th at FCC Bob Boyles Hall at 9:00 am
White - May 22nd at Carmi City Hall at 9:00 am
Bike Study Steering Committee
GWRPC has received a grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to conduct a Planning Study for a bike/walking path between Grayville, Illinois and New Harmony, Indiana. The result of this Planning Study will be a written report back to the Illinois Department of Transportation and the public.

As a part of this study, a Steering Committee, composed of interested persons needs to be formed. The Steering Committee will guide the direction of this study.

If you are interested in learning more or being apart of the steering committee contact Michael Gill, Grant Administrator at 
mgill@gwrpc.com  or call 618-445-3612.
CDBG Applications 2019
GWRPC is currently preparing Community Development Block Grants for the upcoming grant year. The CDBG application deadline is Thursday, August 29, 2019. The grant ceiling is $500,00.00 and the grant minimum is $250,000.00.



The grant is 100% construction; the community is responsible for paying the engineering and administration fee. The community also needs to be registered with GATA and SAM. If you are not registered, our Director, Rileigh Lear, can assist you. Please email her at this link .

One of the objectives is to improve public infrastructure eliminate conditions which are detrimental to health, safety and public welfare. The project area must have a 51% or more of low-to-moderate income population, and there must be a health and safety concern. The Health and Safety concerns would need to be documented. 

Documentation to show a health and safety concern would include, but not limited to:
1)    Well water tests
2)    Pressure tests (PSI <20 is considered a threat).
3)    Photographs showing line breaks or other damage
4)    Boil orders, map of line breaks with dates, and IEPA reference documentation
5)    Surface water tests with map
6)    IEPA or US EPA violation letters or documentation
7)    Newspaper articles
8)    Current resident complaint letters
9)    Water and/or sewer break log with map.

If you have a project you feel could qualify or you have questions about CDBG grants, please email Mike Gill, our Grant Administrator, at  this link or Heather Neuman our Community Development Coordinator at this link .
Greater Wabash Regional Planning Commission | 618-445-3612