It’s disappointing both the city of Warren and Warren County were each denied money to demolish blighted buildings.

The state program was funded for $12 million, but received $25 million in requests. Our county’s small size and lack of proximity to the state capitol don’t help in securing state grant funding, but it’s a little surprising that local officials aren’t more actively engaging the area’s state elected officials for help, either.

County Commisssioner Jeff Eggleston admitted last week that he would approach a similar grant program differently if the opportunity presents itself again.

“If I were to do it differently,” Eggleston said, “(I) would have spent more personal time lobbying the legislature for the money. I think that we could have done a better job working with the representatives to push this along.”

More actively engaging Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, and state Sens. Michele Brooks and Scott Hutchinson may not have changed the result, but city and county officials won’t know if they don’t reach out. And, we’d hope that when local officials reach out with these requests that our state officials are open and responsive.