From the Director, August 2012 - HUD Approves $4.5 million for Windham County
We asked Josh Hanford, Director of the Vermont Community Development Program, how much of the $4.5 million is allocated to direct grants through the revised CDBG-DR action plan, and how much would be available to the region through competitive grant programs. Under the revised action plan, Windham County will receive up to $1,171,629 in direct grants to provide the 25 percent match required under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the buyout of properties located in floodplains. Windham County will also receive direct grants of up to $339,864 for Housing Recovery Activity. This means that up to $2,988,506 will be available to Windham County for competitive grants. The revised action plan and a chart showing the breakdown of funds available to Windham County are available on the WRC website here.
Competitive grants are available in the areas of economic recovery, housing, municipal infrastructure, and planning. While $2,988,506 is considerably more than would have been available had HUD not changed its policy, it is still not a large pool of funds. For this reason our present thinking is that a regional application that consolidates town needs would not be effective. We can, however, offer assistance to towns with their applications, and with the administration of grants received. On August 20th WRC staff will participate in training by DEHCD on applying for CDBG-DR funded competitive grants, so we’ll know more about what to expect from the process after that training. DEHCD will also hold an application workshop in the Windham Region in the near future. Keep an eye on our website for more information, or contact DEHCD and asked to be contacted directly when the workshop details are known. Please contact Associate Director Susan McMahon (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) for more information, or if you’re considering applying for CDBG-DR funds. It’s helpful to us to know what needs exist.
