CDBG Funding Allocations Updated Tomorrow

by Jonathan Weaver

Armstrong County Planners will hold a public meeting tomorrow afternoon to review the municipalities that will receive Community Development Block Grants.

Earlier this month, municipality elected officials all met to review and finalize their applications before the submission deadline.

County Planning and Development Division Director Adrienne Commodore said Manor Township was allocated more than $83,600 in entitlement funding.

With a little more than $15,000 in administration fees to the County Planning and Development office, the remaining $68,500 will be disbursed in two ways: about $48,750 to be utilized to extend water service to three residences along Boyd Road (based on the road’s condition and engineering) and the remaining funds allocated toward housing rehabilitation.

Supervisor Pat Fabian added that in the future, supervisors hope to pave the Manor Township Fire Department parking lot – which would also require income surveying township-wide.

Under new guidelines, township supervisors or public officials – such as Road Foreman Robert Southworth or Secretary Jill Davis - are no longer allowed to collect surveys, as they did in the past during past projects. Fabian later added his concerns.

“This is the first year we’ve noticed a big shift with getting surveys back here in Armstrong County,” Commodore said.

Manor Township Supervisors previously allotted portions of 2012 and 2013 grant funds toward a storm sewer improvement project along Short Street, near the Manor Township fire hall, to benefit five residents. After discussions with Engineer Mike Malak of Senate Engineering, the bid openings for that project will probably be at the beginning of April and completed later this year.

In East Franklin Township, more than $67,600 will be used to offset connection tap fees to more than two dozen households in the low-income villages of Furnace Run and Walkchalk.
In August 2014, County Planning Division Director Jennifer Bellas said 28 households were verified to receive assistance. About the same number of residences was aided utilizing 2012-13 block grant funds.

“These particular projects – payment of the taps and the laterals – were (to) 100 percent low-to-moderate income (residents) because we verified every household. Anybody that applied, we had to be verify their income. That’s how they qualified, Bellas said.

“When we originally applied, we did a survey just to get an approximate number of households that would meet the guidelines so we would know how much to plan for, but when it came down to administration of the project, they had to apply (through the County Department of Planning and Development) office.”

Residents must obtain three quotes.

Supervisors still in the future hope to dedicate grant funding toward for ultraviolet disinfection at the Cowansville treatment plant, but not enough income surveys were received.

In October, Township Engineer Ken Howard of Bankson Engineering read multiple bids for the installation and equipment, totaling more than $150,000. He wondered if supervisors could dedicate two years of grant funding toward what he thought would eventually be state-required equipment.

Kittanning Borough council members also tentatively agreed to allocate about $67,400 toward housing rehabilitation.

But, as Council President Randy Cloak said, that decision is only temporary.

“The reasoning behind it being switched to housing rehab is more of a placeholder until the income surveys from Fair Street can be obtained,” Cloak said. “The intention is to pave Fair Street. Right now, paving is our priority.”

Like the other two locally mentioned, Kittanning Borough is an entitlement community based on population and median income

To qualify to use the grant funding toward reconstruction of a portion of Fair Street – located a few blocks from Kittanning Senior High and near the entrance to Community Park -, Bellas would need to receive seven or eight more income surveys to make sure the street residents as a whole are of low-to-moderate income.

About 12-15 households are thought to be impacted by the project. Only 51 percent of homeowners need to respond to tabulate results and adhere to guidelines.

“Due to the lack of income surveys we’ve gotten for previous projects, we allocated funds toward rehab of single-unit residential (homes) – Borough-wide rehab,” Bellas said during a public hearing late last month.

Other Armstrong County communities that received funding – such as the entitlement community Kiskiminetas Township – will also be discussed at the 2PM meeting tomorrow.

The county-wide application is due to the Department of Community and Economic Development by March 5.