Final Notice: Union County CDBG Application

RUN DATE: July 23, 2020
CONTACT: Mitzi Gallagher-Long, (570) 524-4491

FINAL NOTICE

On or about October 28, 2020, Union County plans to submit an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for FFY 2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in the amount of $466,962. Based on this amount, the County ($248,078), along with Lewisburg Borough ($111,028), and Kelly Township ($107,856), propose to allocate CDBG funds to the following activities:

UNION COUNTY

  1. Buffalo Township Southern Sewer System Rehab $ 181,200
  2. UCHA Housing Rehabilitation $ 24,778
  3. ADMINISTRATION $42,100

TOTAL $248,078

LEWISBURG BOROUGH

  1. Emergency Notification System $92,428
  2. ADMINISTRATION $ 18,600

TOTAL $111,028

KELLY TOWNSHIP

  1. Kelly Apartments Sidewalk $89,756
  2. ADMINISTRATION $18,100

TOTAL $107,856

In addition, Union County on behalf of Kelly Township, intends to submit a budget for its FFY 2016 and FFY 2017 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (PA DCED) on or before August 15, 2020. The budget is as follows:

FFY 2016
ACTIVITY: Township Park Restrooms
Current Budget: $78,044; $(78,044); $0.00

ACTIVITY: UCHA Kelly Twp
Current Budget: $0.00; $78,044 ; $78,044

FFY 2017
ACTIVITY: Township Park Restrooms
Current Budget: $77,146; $(77,146); $0.00

ACTIVITY: UCHA Kelly Twp
Current Budget: $0.00; $77,146 ; $77,146

A Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed use of the CDBG funds for FFY 2020 and the proposed Budget Modifications for FFY 2016 and FFY 2017 will be held on August 4, at 10:30 AM. Keeping with federal and state guidelines regarding COVID 19, this meeting will take place as a virtual video web and tele conference. The public is invited to observe and participate in the hearing as follows: To access via web video, type the link: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/8383951780. To access via telephone dial +1(470)869-2200 and enter Meeting ID: 838 395 1780. The meeting will be recorded. The meeting platform is accessible to persons with disabilities. If accommodations are needed for those with special needs related to language, sight, or hearing, please call (570)524-4491 at least five days in advance. Interested applicants should contact the Union County Commissioners as soon as possible for funding consideration, but in no case later than August 4, 2020. Following the Public Hearing, the Union County Commissioners will consider the approval of the Budget Modifications for FFY 2016 and FFY 2017 at the August 4, 2020 Commissioners Meeting at 2:00 PM. The Union County Commissioners will consider the approval of the CDBG FFY 2020 application at the September 1, 2020 Commissioners Meeting at 2:00 PM.

The Union County Commissioners will strive to make all programs and activities accessible to the learning, mobility, vision, hearing, and language-impaired persons. If you have a disability or limited English proficiency and require an auxiliary aid or accommodations, please contact Kristen Lloyd at SEDA-COG, 1-800-332-6701, 1-800-654-5984 TTY, 1-800-654-5988 TDD, to discuss your needs. Translators will be available upon request.

Any complaints should be written and submitted to Mitzi Gallagher-Long, at SEDA-COG. Written responses will be addressed within 15 working days when practicable.

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Traductores estarán disponibles en las reunions públicas por petición.

Bloomsburg may receive $500K home rehab grant

The Town of Bloomsburg anticipates applying for a 2020 $500,000 housing rehabilitation grant and interested residents should apply now to get on the waiting list for the no-cost repairs.

If awarded, eligible residents may receive up to $65,000 each for home repairs.

Interested residents may call SEDA-COG’s Stacy Anderson at 800-326-9310.

Eligible repairs include structural, roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating/furnace, window replacement, radon and lead-based paint mitigation, and energy-related improvements. Also included are modifications for mobility-impaired residents. There is no cost to homeowners who maintain home residency over a five-year period from the date of signing.

SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) manages the entire process for the homeowner, said Teri Provost, director of the agency’s Housing Rehabilitation program.

“The homeowner not only can get necessary home repairs but go through the process hassle-free as we manage the process,” Provost said.

Qualifications:

  • Own the home or have Life Rights to live in it;
  • Meet income qualifications based on household size;
  • Be current on local taxes and municipal utility bills;
  • Provide proof of homeowner’s insurance;
  • Live in the home an additional five years.

Additional requirements may apply.

Annual Gross Income Limits:
Family size: 1 – $36,800; 2 – $42,050; 3 – $47,300; 4 – $52,550; 5 – $56,800; 6 – $61,000; 7 – $65,200; 8 – $69,400.

Bloomsburg awarded $2M grant to expand flood mitigation system

Bloomsburg’s flood mitigation system can now expand, thanks to a $2 million grant.

Before the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Relief funds were awarded, only 40 percent of the design for the town’s flood wall expansion project was funded. Now, this grant funds the final engineering design, permitting, property acquisition, and initial construction costs. Total project cost may be around $15 million.

The proposed project footprint is expected to be an almost mile-long levee system on the town’s southern edge along the Susquehanna River, and includes the Bloomsburg Area School District’s athletic complex, the middle and high schools, around 125 homes, 30 businesses of varying size, and the town’s public works and fire department. It also entails significant storm water and sanitary sewer improvements.

Bloomsburg Mayor Sandy Davis called the grant “great news,” and thanked all who made the grant come to fruition.

“We have been working diligently on behalf of our Bloomsburg residents to secure the funding for a flood wall that will protect homes, our school, and essential services,” Davis said. “At this time of Thanksgiving, we are truly thankful for the efforts of everyone who provided assistance in this next step toward full funding of Bloomsburg’s flood-wall project.”

Bloomsburg Town Manager Lauren Martz said the project will provide vital protection.

“We are incredibly thankful to be awarded this critical funding which will help us to provide crucial protection to numerous residences and businesses within the Town of Bloomsburg. Flood protection has been a dream for Bloomsburg, and we are thrilled to see this starting to become a reality,” Martz said.

In an issued press release, PA Sen. John R. Gordner said, “This significant grant to the Town of Bloomsburg sets the stage for a major expansion of the current flood wall. I am very pleased that Gov. Tom Wolf and DCED Secretary Dennis Davin have agreed to support this crucial project for Bloomsburg.”

SEDA-Council of Governments’ (SEDA-COG) Community Development has been assisting the town in developing the project and prepared the grant application. SEDA-COG Project Coordinator Tyler Dombroski thanked the parties involved.

“We had a real team effort from a lot of different people at the Town of Bloomsburg, the Columbia County Water Mitigation Authority, the Bloomsburg Area School District, engineer Borton Lawson, PA Sen. John R. Gordner, PA Rep. David R. Millard, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and many others,” Dombroski said.

HUD allocated over $27 million to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through CDBG Disaster Recovery funds. These funds are allocated by DCED to Pennsylvania communities impacted by Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene in 2011. 

This project expands on the almost $30 million flood wall that protects about 700 jobs in Columbia County and the former Windsor Foods site. It was dedicated in October 2016. At 1 mile long and up to 16 feet high, it is the largest public works project in the history of Columbia County. The height is 1.5 feet above the highest flood on record, Tropical Storm Lee of 2011, and 3 feet above the Hurricane Agnes level in 1972. Tropical Storm Lee cost Autoneum North America’s Bloomsburg facility over $60 million in damages.