To: The Honorable Mayor and Board of Commissioners From: Subject: Authorize Town Manager to Execute Agreement to Continue Participation in the Mecklenburg County CDBG Urban County Entitlement Program
The Town of Huntersville is requires to submit a new agreement to participate in the upcoming program period (October 1, 2016 - September 30, 2018). A draft of the agreement is attached as part of this agenda item. We are required to execute the agreement no later than July 10, 2015.
We talked earlier this year at our annual planning retreat about the Town pursuing its own CDBG entitlement status. In speaking with the HUD office, we would be eligible for roughly $175,000 per year as an entitlement community. However, if we became an entitlement community, our population would be reduced from Mecklenburg County's urban county distinction and cause it to fall below the threshold for eligibility, costing the county and other towns (including Huntersville) some $600,000 annually. That said, the Town has initiated discussions with Mecklenburg County and other members of the county's CDBG program about a set aside of approximately $150,000 (roughly our total less administrative costs we'd expect to pay anyway) for the Town of Huntersville on an annual basis as an attempt to achieve the best of both worlds, the town getting what its eligible for under CDBG without costing the County and the other towns their chance for CDBG funds to serve their communities.
In the FY15-16 round of funding, the Town requested funds in the amount of $10,000 to conduct an LMI (Low-to-Moderate Income) Assessment to conduct windshield and other surveys to identify low to moderate income areas that may have been underrepresented by the 2010 Census. Once applicable areas are identified, we will work to outline potential uses of CDBG funds and any alignment with the Town's CIP. We also requested and received funds for Our Towns Habitat in the amount of $68,153 to provide housing repairs to approximately six low to moderate income homeowners. We also tentatively approved $40,000 for FY17 for an additional four homes. Habitat staff are already conducting outreach to identify additional eligible homeowners not already in their pipeline.
| | | | |