PROGRESS REPORT
Community Development Department
3rd Quarter of FY 2005
In January, the Community Development Director began preparing for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) 2005 program year funding cycle. A grant application was developed for the program, and notices of the upcoming funding cycle were mailed out to all individuals and organizations on the CDBG mailing list. The notice was also published in the Daily Times and posted on the city website. The funding round opened on February 1, 2005, and the completed applications were due on March 18, 2005.
A CDBG Review Committee comprised of local citizens was formed to review the grant application submittals. The Community Development Director served as the staff liaison to this committee, providing them with information on the national objectives of the CDBG program, the types of projects eligible for funding, and the basic rules and regulations that must be followed. The CDBG Review Committee met twice in March, once to receive copies of the applications for their review, and once to discuss the projects themselves and any questions that they had. A Public Hearing will be held in April to allow the CDBG grant applicants to give a verbal presentation on their project to the CDBG Review Committee members and field any questions they might have. The Committee will then formulate a recommendation for funding which will be submitted to the Mayor.
In late December the Community Development Director mailed out the remaining Environmental Review screening request letters for the CDBG PY 2004 projects. By mid-February sufficient time had passed to allow for receipt of responses on the screening letters, and we began preparing the Notice to the Public of Intent to Request Release of Funds. The Notice was published in the Daily Times on February 27, 2005. The period for the public to provide comments to the City of Salisbury ran through March 7th, and HUD accepted comments through the end of March. The 2004 CDBG funds were released for expenditure as of April 1, 2005.
Also in January, work continued with the consultants on the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI). This is the next big document that we are required by HUD to complete. The consultants and the city staff made yet another attempt to gather input from the local renters by inviting them to a focus group meeting. One of the consultants met with some of the members of the local Ministerial Alliance on January 20th and asked them to please distribute the meeting notice to their membership, and ask them to encourage any of their church members who had experienced issues relating to fair housing choice in Salisbury to attend the focus group meeting and share their thoughts and experiences. The meeting notice was also submitted to the Daily Times, PAC 14 and Clear Channel Communications as a public service message. The meeting was held on February 16th in the Community Room of the Homes at Foxfield in Salisbury, and two residents from the Johnson’s Lake neighborhood attended the meeting. While we had hoped for a larger turnout, the residents who did attend provided us with their helpful input, which will be incorporated into the first draft of the Analysis of Impediments.
In February three members of the HUD staff came to Salisbury for a Technical Assistance visit. They worked with us to get a couple of our projects set up in the IDIS software system. This is the software system that HUD utilizes to track and report all data on the programs that they run and the projects that are funded. We discussed various aspects of program administration, and they provided us with a great deal of helpful guidance.
In February the Mayor, the City Administrator, Councilman Comegys, the Community Development Director and the Building, Housing & Zoning Director met with members of Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Service (SNHS) and Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County to discuss how we could combine our efforts and resources to address the needs of the community. Both SNHS and Habitat will be applying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to help them fund various projects and services. Subsequent meetings will be held to explore other funding sources and options.
The Mayor, the City Administrator, and the Community Development Director met twice in February to discuss a possible addition to the CDBG program for the 2006 funding cycle. The Mayor had received information from another jurisdiction on a “Community Betterment Program” that they have developed as a segment of their CDBG program. This program provides the opportunity for neighborhood associations that are not 501(c)3 organizations to nominate projects for their neighborhoods that could then be carried out by the city. The Community Development Director will prepare a draft application and instructions for review and discussion in the next quarter.