Decent affordable housing and services to low- to moderate-income residents, and the creation of jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses is the objective of the Community Development Block Grant program. This will be celebrated next week as Kaua‘i
Decent affordable housing and services to low- to moderate-income residents, and the creation of jobs through the expansion and retention of businesses is the objective of the Community Development Block Grant program.
This will be celebrated next week as Kaua‘i Mayor Bryan Baptiste proclaimed March 24-28 as Community Development Week on Kaua‘i.
“This year marks the 33rd year that the county has administered the CDBG program,” Baptiste said in a press release. “We are pleased that the program has provided us with the opportunity to collaborate on projects with a number of community groups that benefit low- to moderate-income communities on Kaua‘i.”
Baptiste added that the County Council recently passed a resolution recognizing the significance of the CDBG program and the hard work of all the community partners that have made a difference in the lives of many Kaua‘i residents.
According to the press release, county officials expect to receive $793,056 in CDBG funds in the coming federal fiscal year, plus an additional $235,000 generated from re-payment of CDBG loans for first-time homebuyers, housing rehabilitation and economic development.
Funding for the CDBG program is made possible through appropriations from Congress. The program is administered nationally by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and locally, by the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency.
More than 3,000 small and 1,100 large and medium-sized communities across the county receive CDBG funds to address a wide range of unique community development needs, the release states.
Eight projects have been selected for CDBG funding by the mayor and are scheduled to begin shortly after the funds are released in August.
The projects include:
• $303,235, Department of Parks and Recreation, to make accessible all parking and connecting routes to park elements at Kilauea Neighborhood Center and Kalawai, Peter Rayno and Wailua Houselots parks.
• $218,900, Kaua‘i County Housing Agency, to provide low-cost mortgage loans for low- to moderate income residents who are first-time homebuyers.
• $97,000, Kaua‘i Fire Department, to purchase a new fire response vehicle for the Hanapepe Fire Station.
• $70,000, Aupuni O Ni‘ihau, for design costs to convert a former community hospital in Waimea into a high technology and electronic media training center.
• $60,900, Hawai‘i Home Ownership Center, to provide homebuyer education and counseling for low- to moderate income residents to help them become homeowners.
• $48,000, Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i, to expand a legal assistance program on Kaua‘i that will help the homeless, residents of shelters, and tenants in both private and public housing.
• $46,350, Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity, Inc., to convert a space into a certified kitchen to provide meals for residents at Kaua‘i’s first emergency homeless shelter, Mana‘olana.
• $25,000, Department of Public Works, to conduct a study and analysis on whether the flood control levees in Hanapepe and Waimea are structurally sound and still capable of providing their designed level of protection against flooding.
As part of the week-long celebration, the public is invited to attend a pictorial presentation on previously funded CDBG projects on Mar. 25 starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Lihu‘e Civic Center, Pi‘ikoi Building, Conference Room B. The theme for the 2008 celebration is “CDBG: On the Right Road.”
For more information, call Jo Shimamoto, the CDBG coordinator, at 241-4428.
