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 about $3 million in Covington neighborhoods, plus about $2 million 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.
- A virtual hearing outlining the draft Annual Action Plan will be held at 5:30 p.m. June 13 and can be accessed through this Zoom link found at ACTION PLAN PUBLIC HEARING.
- Written comments on the plan will be accepted until June 26 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.
See DRAFT OF PLAN for the proposed spending.
The three basic goals for the programs are to provide decent housing, to provide a suitable living environment, and to expand economic opportunities.
“The Annual Action Plan creates the framework for how we plan to invest these housing and community development funds,” Wallace said. “We really want these funds to improve the quality of life of our residents.”
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, literacy, and housing rehab.
The City expects to get nearly $1.46 million in new funds for 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.
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 almost $645,000 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.
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