All told, jurisdictions countywide received $155.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act money from the federal government and the county’s Development Director David Fehr said that has reduced the number of annual requests for CDBG and HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds.
“Anecdotally just talking to folks, I think some of the communities that don’t have a lot of staff, it was becoming a burden to manage the grant money they had already received, plus now try to put together new applications,” Fehr said. “I think that was a reason for less money requests and less projects to pick from.”
The CDBG money typically goes for infrastructure in communities that have low-to-moderate income areas for projects such as sidewalk repairs, water and sewer projects, community center upgrades and other needs. The HOME dollars are generally spent on addressing the homeless situation and dearth of affordable housing countywide.
The commissioners on Monday approved 13 CDBG projects totaling $1.27 million and six HOME projects that amount to $941,722. They received CDBG requests totaling $2.9 million and $1.28 million in HOME applications. However six projects totaling $1.5 million had already been funded through ARPA funds and two — in Millville and Monroe — were not LMI eligible, according to Community Development Administrator Susan Ellerhorst.
So essentially everything that could be approved was, according to County Administrator Judi Boyko.
“The submissions were not quit as expensive and broad as they have been in past program years...,” Boyko said. “Basically everyone pretty much got funded, maybe not to their full amount, but they got some portion of their funding.”
Right off the top, Fehr’s department collects $318,470 for performing administrative duties. The county’s community development department is not supported by the county general fund, they subsist on percentages of the grants they administer.
The county also administers the CDBG programs for Fairfield and Oxford, so their allocations are required. Fairfield is using their $130,000 to build a stretch of sidewalk on Ohio 4 between Nilles Road and Camelot Drive. Oxford received $115,000 to buy land for LMI housing.
Assistant Oxford City Manager Jessica Greene said while city council hasn’t approved the project yet, they are formulating a plan to provide 50 LMI housing units for those most at risk of homelessness, the working poor who can’t afford Oxford housing and seniors.
The CDBG money will pay for a two-acre parcel to get started and she is working with Neighborhood Housing Services on the development piece.
“We want to provide 50 units of affordable housing, not all in one spot, not all on these two acres, but incrementally through our community over the next several years,” she said.
Fairfield Twp. was the big winner, culling $506,200 for stormwater improvements on King and Pater avenues where photos show big craters and clogged storm drains in the residential neighborhoods.
There were two non-infrastructure or housing related projects, $74,014 for a New Miami Fire Department utility truck and the annual $25,000 contribution for the Butler County Regional Transit Authority job shuttle. Back in 2015 a large group of businesses and communities lobbied the commissioners to support the job shuttle and it has become a staple on the CDBG-funded projects list.
Some other projects include: $94,999 for Supports to Encourage Low-income Families for home repair and renovation projects; $41,383 to the Serve City homeless shelter for kitchen improvements and $20,000 to Seven Mile for a stormwater study.
The largest HOME allocations are going to Middletown, a total of $357,854, for down payment assistance and a new affordable housing. They are in a consortium with the county and thus entitled to 38% of the funding.
Ellerhorst is relatively new and Boyko charged her will revamping the HUD program processes. Her first step was to add three new members to the panel that vets projects. Previously the panel consisted of representatives from the Development Department, Job and Family Services, the county engineer and Water & Sewer. She added leaders from the Butler County Education Services Center, Butler County Mental Health and Addiction Recovery Services Board and United Way.
Ellerhorst also sent out community surveys asking them what their priorities are for the 2024 CDBG grant cycle. She received six responses and said she’ll be circling back with phone calls.
Boyko said they want to make every effort to ensure the stakeholders are engaged in the process.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure that we are continuously improving our operations so that we’re better serving the end user and in this instance it would be the communities, the residents in those low-to-moderate income areas,” Boyko said adding they also want to provide the commissioners “a process they can have confidence in.”
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