Rigby revamps downtown with grant funding

Rigby will be receiving $350,000 in funding after the governor’s office announced Thursday that 14 cities in Idaho will be awarded a Community Development Block Grant.

The city received support from their Urban Renewal Agency, as well as the Idaho Transportation Department. The renewal agency has already added historic theme lights, trees and sidewalks to E. Main Street, but with extra funding they will be expanding beautification efforts down S. State Street. Mayor Jason Richardson said it may not sound like much, but this project is the key to keeping Rigby a vibrant town.

“We have little Rigby right in the middle of these (Rexburg and Idaho Falls) two major growing towns and we don’t want to lose our own identity,” he said.

Urban Renewal Chair Clark Lemmon said the project is also important to support the town’s annual fair and rodeo.

“We have about 80,000 individual visits per year,” said Lemmon. “Jefferson county is a county that is just filling up with people.”

The new funding for sidewalks down State Street will allow patrons to access fair and rodeo events. The agency has already added new fairground bleachers and are looking to add more parking as event interests increase.

The town has 24 weekend events during the summer; 23 of those are already booked.