PROGRESS REPORT

Community Development Department

1st Quarter of FY 2006

 

 

The 2005 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Action Plan was finalized and submitted to HUD on June 21st for their review and approval.  HUD had 45 days to approve the plan.  On July 28, 2005 we received notice from HUD that our 2005 Action Plan had been approved.  Attached to this notice was a Funding Approval / Agreement form to be executed in the amount of $342,154 for the 2005 program year.  This agreement was executed and returned to HUD on August 10, 2005, and on August 31, 2005 we received notice that the funds had been added to our Line of Credit.  Once the Environmental Review Records have been completed for each of the individual projects that have been funded, and the results have been published with the appropriate public comment period, these monies will be released for expenditure.

 

Progress continues on the 2004 projects that were funded.  Approximately half of the bullet-resistant street light shields have been installed in city neighborhoods to date.  We are now soliciting suggestions from the Police Department and local residents for additional locations where these shields will be beneficial.  The owner-occupied housing rehabilitation programs being operated by Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Service (SNHS) and the Salisbury-Wicomico Planning, Zoning & Community Development Department (PZ&CD) are coming along well.  The part-time Housing Counselor position at SNHS and the Individual Development Account (IDA) program began serving clients on July 1, 2005.

 

            In July the Community Development Director attended a two-day training session on the Environmental Review process in Baltimore, Maryland.  The rules, regulations and procedures involved in the environmental review process are lengthy and involved, and a great deal of information was covered during the training session which should prove to be very useful.

 

            In early August the final draft of the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI) was submitted for approval by Neighborhood Solutions, Inc.  The Mayor, City Administrator and Community Development Director reviewed the document, a few minor changes were made, and the AI was finalized.  A Public Notice was posted in the Daily Times on September 11, 2005 notifying local residents that the AI was available for review, both on the website, and in hard copy if so desired.  The Fair Housing department of HUD was notified that the AI had been completed, and was available for their review whenever they wished to see it.

 

            In early August the Community Development Director attended the Lower Shore Regional Growth Forum at UMES along with several other City Department heads.  Growth issues impacting the Lower Shore area were explored in depth.  Data from these regional forums will be used to develop solutions / suggestions for addressing growth issues across the state.

 

            In September the CD Director began working on the city’s first Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the 2004 program year.  This is another big document which must be submitted to HUD each year, and it consists of an in-depth analysis of the progress made during the program year to address the goals and objectives outlined in the 5-year Consolidated Plan.  The CAPER covers not only the projects that were funded with CDBG monies, but also all progress that has been made by other agencies city-wide to address the housing and community development needs identified in the Consolidated Plan.  The draft CAPER will be open for public comment for fifteen days, then the document will be finalized and submitted to HUD.

 

            The CD Director continues to attend the meetings of the Tri-County Alliance for the Homeless.  The 2005 CDBG Action Plan includes funding for the Salisbury Homeless Outreach Program (SHOP) which will be orchestrated by the Somerset County Health Dept./Tri-County Alliance for the Homeless in conjunction with local volunteer churches.  This project will provide emergency shelter space for the homeless during the cold winter months, and outreach and casework services during the warmer months.