County holds first hearing on block grant funds
WAYNESBURG – Municipal officials made their requests Wednesday for funding from Greene County’s Community Development Block Grant.
The first of two public hearings on the use of the county’s allocation of funds was held by the county commissioners following their regular agenda meeting.
CDBG money is federal money channeled to county and local municipalities through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.
The money must be used for projects that primarily benefit low- to moderate-income residents. It also can be used to prevent or eliminate blight or for any emergency community development needs.
The hearing was held on the 2014 fiscal year allocation. The county expects to receive $219,150, of which at least 70 percent must be used to benefit low and moderate income residents, said Crystal Simmons, grant coordinator for the county Department of Economic Development.
The amount the county will receive is a slight increase from last fiscal year’s allocation of $217,813.
Supervisors from three municipalities presented requests.
Wayne Township supervisor Tim Chapman requested funding to help the township extend water lines on both Jay Phillips Hill Road and Yeager Run Road. The extensions would serve about 25 homes, he said.
Morgan Township supervisor Shirl Barnhart asked the commissioners for additional funding to complete a water line extension on Happy Valley Road.
The township started the project with a 2010 CDBG grant from the county. However, the line was only extended far enough to provide service to five of the 27 homes on the road because of additional costs associated with boring under a state highway and rock conditions, Barnhart said.
Barnhart said the project is ready to go to bid; the engineering work was completed earlier. The township also has Act 13 impact fee money that could be used on the project, which is estimated to cost $218,000, Barnhart said.
Center Township supervisor Seann McCollum requested funding for the township to purchase property in the Rogersville area to develop housing. The township, as well as the entire western part of the county, is in need of housing, he said.
The township will need $100,000 to $120,000 to acquire the property on which it hopes to build three single-family or multi-family homes for more moderate-income residents, McCollum said. The area already has public water and sewage. To construct the homes, the township may consider working with a developer, he said.
The second public hearing on the funds will be held at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 16, in the commissioner’s meeting room. The deadline for comments or requests for funding is Oct. 29.
After the comment period expires, the commissioners will decided which projects will receive funding, Simmons said. The county grant application is due Nov. 21.
The county’s allocation of money cannot be spent in Waynesburg Borough and Franklin and Cumberland townships, which receive their own annual CDBG allocations.