Comment period underway for federal grant programs
COVINGTON, Ky. – The public has two opportunities to weigh in on a draft proposal that outlines how to invest almost $1.5 million in Covington neighborhoods, plus almost $600,000 on affordable housing in Covington and four surrounding cities.
The money represents the expected annual allocation from the CDBG and HOME federal grant programs. It’s unrelated to COVID-19 recovery funds.
- Written comments on the plan will be accepted until May 8 and should be sent to Federal Grants Manager Jeremy Wallace at jwallace@covingtonky.gov, by fax at (859) 292-2106, or by mail at the City of Covington, 20 W. Pike St., Covington, KY 41011.
Call (859) 292-2147 or TDD (800) 545-1833, ext. 931 if you have questions.
The draft of the plan can be seen
HERE.
The three basic goals for the programs are to provide decent housing, to provide a suitable living environment, and to expand economic opportunities.
CDBG program
The Community Development Block Grant program is earmarked for a wide variety of services and programs – primarily in low- and moderate-income areas – such as street and streetscape infrastructure, park improvements, crime prevention, parks and recreation, code enforcement, economic development, and literacy.
The City expects to get just over $1.48 million in the coming year. Additional funds will be carried over from previous years. Some of the carryover money is already allocated to ongoing projects and some will be allocated to new projects.
The HOME program
To spend money in the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Covington is part of a consortium that includes the cities of Ludlow, Newport, Bellevue, and Dayton.
The HOME budget includes a little over $560,000 in new funds, plus additional carried-over funds.
In Covington, the HOME program typically funds homeownership programs, including down payment assistance to help people buy homes and housing development to create new homeownership opportunities.
“The Annual Action Plan is centered on a fundamental philosophy: Government should invest in improving the lives of its citizens,” Wallace said. “We look forward to implementing these programs.”
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