Dear Editor and Westfield Community,
This letter is in response to the Letter to the Editor post in the Westfield News on April 2nd, regarding a technical workshop that is being offered by the Westfield Business Improvement District. The letter did not accurately represent the program so I offer the following information for clarification.
The City of Westfield is the recipient of Federal HUD funds through a program called the Community Development Block Grant.
Local non-profits are asked each year to submit their proposals on how best they can positively impact the community with their programs and activities. These programs and activities must qualify under national objectives such as serving a low-moderate income population including, but not limited to, economic development activities.
The Executive Director of the Westfield Business Improvement District thoroughly researched possible programs and workshops that have been conducted on a national/international level to support small businesses in addition to major corporations. The “Creativity for Business” was a unique workshop and new to the Westfield business community. For this reason, the Regional Boston HUD office was contacted to review the program for eligibility. It was confirmed by HUD that the program was eligible for those business owners who qualified as low-moderate income. However, if the program is being offered to other business owners not considered low-moderate income a fee must be charged. The fee of $50 was chosen to be reasonably affordable – much lower than the workshop cost if participants were to take the program on their own. That fee goes back to the CDBG program to assist future grant programs and activities.
On Tuesday, April 29th the City of Westfield will be celebrating National Community Development Week with participant open houses. We invite the entire community to join us as we celebrate the positive impact these programs and activities have had on our friends, local businesses, and neighbors here in Westfield. More details will be forthcoming in a future publication of the Westfield News.
Sincerely,
Diana McLean,
Community Development Block Grant Coordinator
