Butler County must not be left out of a new state grant program for water and sewer projects. But municipalities here will determine how successful the county will be in attracting any of the money that will be available under the program approved by state voters.

The critical question is how many proposed projects in this county are "shovel ready" — that is, ready for construction to begin?

Evans City is a municipality with a project that fits that criterion, along with a companion requirement that a project's cost exceed $500,000. The borough wants to construct two miles of new sewage lines and renovate more than a mile of existing lines. The community is attempting to comply with a consent order from the state Department of Environmental Protection, which is requiring repair and/or replacement of deteriorated lines.

Evans City won't be eligible for any of the grant money unless it files an application, and that will require official approval by the borough council. That approval would be virtually automatic if the application process did not — as borough engineer Rick Barnett informed the council — require $10,000 from the municipality.

With such a requirement, potential applicants will, in effect, be making a wager that their projects will be successful in what Barnett said would be an "aggressive" application process.

He was right in making clear to the council that the competition for money will be stiff and that there could be no guarantee that the borough will get the grant money it seeks.

"It takes money to get money," Barnett said.

"They (state) are expecting a flood of applications for the first round (of grant approvals), and it's anyone's guess as to who gets money and how much they get," he added.

All considered, if the borough has the financial flexibility to allocate $10,000 for that purpose, it would be foolish not to seek a grant.

What the borough could gain would dwarf the $10,000 outlay, and the state money presumably would remove some of the project's financial burden from those served by the new and upgraded lines.

According to Barnett, the application deadline is Feb. 13. The borough council apparently will make a decision next week on whether to give approval for an application.

Other county municipalities with "shovel ready" projects costing more than $500,000 should, like Evans City, be plotting their course of action. It might be a long time before a similar grant opportunity presents itself.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers who represent this county should be watchful in regard to how the grant-awarding process is carried out, and be available to help municipalities obtain answers to any questions that they might have.

Amid the challenges of the troubled economic climate, this grant program is an optimistic ray of light for many communities.

It is important for Butler County to get a fair share of the available money. But those municipalities that need the money will be the ones who determine whether that occurs.

Communities close to being "shovel ready" should speed up their plans preparation in the month ahead to position themselves for grant eligibility.