A DIG grant the city took the first step toward Monday night is similar to the ICE grant Dowagiac got in 2009 for Solomon, Uneta and Wolf streets.

Those projects, which for all practical purposes are now complete, were largely funded by Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).

“The state has shifted focus on how CDBG funds will be distributed for the upcoming year with a program called Downtown Improvement Grants (DIG),” City Manager Kevin Anderson said Monday night.

“This is a very similar program to the ICE grant, but now the focus is specifically on downtown improvements” rather than infrastructure.

City staff put together a grant proposal that includes improvements to parking lots behind City Hall, adjacent to the new Council on Aging senior center and at the corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

“Also within the grant applications we are looking to improve the crosswalks on Front Street as well as upgrade the lights on Depot Drive by retrofitting the existing streetlights with a more energy-efficient system,” Anderson said.

The first step in the process is submission of a “pre-application” due by Oct. 21.

If the pre-approval is accepted, the city can then turn in a full application for an official award during the first quarter of 2012.

Acceptance of the pre-application is a commitment that funds have been reserved for the project.

Total cost for all projects is estimated at $326,000.

The city’s obligation, 25 percent, amounts to $81,500, which would come from the capital improvements and electric utility funds.

The total amount of grant funds available is $3 million.

Project requests must be at least $100,000 and shall not exceed $750,000.

“It should be fairly competitive and there are no guarantees,” Anderson told Mayor Pro Tem Leon Laylin.

“If there is a shortage of money, we could break this into pieces and do a smaller portion.”