SOUTHWICK – The Select Board will hold a public hearing on Tuesday at 5:55 p.m. at the Southwick Town Hall to discuss the proposed Fiscal Year 2019 application to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
The application is part of the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) program, which is federally-funded and designed to assist small cities and towns in meeting their community development needs.
Working with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission’s Deputy Director Jim Mazik, the Select Board has picked two serious needs in town they want addressed.
“We have some projects that we want to continue to do,” said Town of Southwick Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart.
Mazik’s discussion with the Select Board will be about the application for a possible Community Development Block Grant. (WNG File Photo)
Paving, improving the drainage as well as updating the water and sewer infrastructure on Bungalow Street are some of the projects.
A total of $550,000 for the FY 19 grant application will be submitted for both requests.
“There’s drainage issues there, the surface is in poor condition,” said Mazik.
As Bungalow street was already surveyed and eligible under the CDBG program, Mazik and Southwick officials will request that the design and engineering work goes into the application.
The other aspect to the application request will be town-wide housing rehabilitation for approximately 15 housing units in Southwick. According to Mazik, the housing rehabilitation consists of addressing building code violations, health and sanitation violations, as well as serious infrastructure repairs like roofs, leaks, plumbing, and septic.
Mazik added that the requirements to be eligible for the housing rehabilitation are income based. A one-person household is eligible if they make $45,200 or less, two-person household is $61,650 or less, and a four-person household is $64,550 or less.
Noting that the most a community can receive in a two-year period is $1.35 million, if the town is approved for the $550,000 FY 19 grant the town will then apply for $800,000 on the FY 20 application.
Mazik indicated that this is a very competitive program and that he received grants for 10 communities throughout the Pioneer Valley last year out of 11 grant requests.
“It’s very competitive, there’s no guarantees,” said Mazik. “I expect it will be as competitive this year.”
In August of 2016, the Baker-Polito Administration announced that they awarded $28 million in CDBG money to 57 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The communities of Southwick and Granville received a combined grant of $900,000 that went towards housing rehabilitation, re-constructing Veterans Street in Southwick, and funding a mobile van for the Our Community Food Pantry.
