Millions in block grant money flowing to region for housing rehab, social services, economic development
Published: 08-31-2023 3:15 PM |
NORTHAMPTON — Housing rehabilitation, social services and economic development efforts across the state will get a boost from almost $65 million in federal Community Development Block Grants announced this week.
Among the grant recipients is Easthampton, which will receive $1,089,000 to support infrastructure improvements for the New City neighborhood.
Senior Planner Jamie Webb said the project is in the design and development phase. The money will be used to create bid-ready plans and cost estimates to support future grant applications.
The New City neighborhood was developed by the Hampton Mill Co. in the early 1900s, Webb said. The district, encompassing approximately 35 acres, is bounded by Lower Millpond Park to the west, Parsons Street to the east, Ferry Street to the north, and Everett Street to the south.
Many of the neighborhood’s water and sewer lines have reached the end of their life or are too small, Webb said, and heavy rainstorms are liable to overwhelm the streets’ drainage system.
The city got funding in 2020 to create a master plan for the neighborhood, to identify needed improvements to public utilities, roads and pedestrian access. The plan was completed in fall 2021, Webb said.
The next piece is the design for repairs to the water system. The city will go out to bid for engineers and other consultants to put together construction estimates and design documents.
“The work is pretty detailed,” Webb said. “We want to get ahead of our next set of grant applications.”
Article continues after...
Yesterday's Most Read Articles
Community meetings will be part of the process, she said.
The city has been relying on grants, either federal CDBG money or the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, to pay for as much of the work as possible. City residents already are confronting a large rate increase to pay for other infrastructure projects, Webb said.
The entire New City project is expected to take about 10 years to complete, she said.
Another grant of $1.7 million goes to the towns Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Peru, Plainfield, Williamsburg, Westhampton and Worthington for housing rehabilitation and elder services.
Slightly more than $1 million is going toward housing rehab.
“We’re proposing to do 15 homes across eight towns,” said Dave Christopolis, executive director of the Hilltown Community Development Corp., which administers the grant.
Hilltown CDC applies for CDBG money every year and always aims to spread the assistance across the region it serves. The nonprofit has a waiting list of people whose homes need repairs, and who need to make less than 80% of median income to qualify for the grant.
First, Hilltown CDC’s rehab specialist will inspect the homes for problems, Christopolis said. Any health and safety code violations have to be corrected first, then the proposed improvements can be considered.
“Anything energy-related is approved,” he said
The organization then seeks approval for the repair budget for each home from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. If the amount is over the cap, a waiver can be requested. Then the project is put out to bid.
The organization has to accept the low bidder, after which the homeowner is asked to OK the project. They can choose to back out at that point, Christopolis said, or they can pay the difference if they want another contractor to do the work.
Another portion of the grant, roughly $300,000, will go toward social services, with about $136,000 earmarked for the Hilltown Elder Network, an in-home chore service, Christopolis said. The food pantry in Goshen will receive $40,000 and the rest is subcontracted to the Hilltown Community Health Center
Christopolis said the block grant provides a key source of revenue for the Hilltown CDC. It helps a lot of people, he said and it allows the organization to charge a fair amount to administration.
“If we don’t get the block grant, I’m laying people off,” he said.
■Amherst will receive $1.65 million to support infrastructure improvements in the East Street Neighborhood Park, Belchertown Road, and South East Street Extension, as well as microenterprise assistance for 32 businesses and social services.
<sbull value="sbull"><text xmlns="urn:schemas-teradp-com:gn4tera"></text></sbull>Belchertown will receive $1.35 million to support infrastructure improvements at Sportshaven Mobile Home Park.
■Russell, Huntington, Chester, and Middlefield will receive $1.7 million to support housing rehabilitation for six units, Valley View infrastructure improvements, and to support various social programs.
]]>