(KNZA)--More than $321,000 is designated for the city of Horton, earmarked to assist the ongoing makeover of the Brown County community. 

The funds come through the Kansas Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program, with the announcement of the award received Monday through a letter from Governor Sam Brownback to Horton Mayor Tim Lentz. “This is like a breath of fresh air,” Lentz told MSC News. “We've been kind of anticipating the answer whether we'd be awarded this or not, and then here it come that we were finally awarded the Community Development Block Grant for $321,000 to finish our downtown reinvent project.”

The funds are specifically designated to assist with the funding of Horton's sidewalk improvement project. “It actually finalizes our sidewalk project downtown. It will take us the next block to the north of where we stopped on 8th Street there. It will take us down to 7th Street on both sides and will also take us the next block north up to 10th Street there on both sides and will finish the sidewalk and curbing out there with new light poles.” 

Lentz says the funds will also allow for ADA compliance, as well as provide an enhancement at the city's community building. “One of the main things that it really does for our community right now is it gives us an ADA sidewalk down 7th Street to our Community Building and it also gives us an ADA compliant sidewalk up into the front of our Blue Building, which is our Community Building. We're going to try to go ahead and asphalt the parking lot of the Community Building to the east and kind of try to tie that all in together to make that a nice area for the events and the weddings and stuff that we have coming up.” 

The makeover of the community comes through the ongoing “Reinvent Horton” campaign, as envisioned by television host and renowned businessman Marcus Lemonis, intended to bring fresh life, and fresh business, to the city.