Projects praised during community development week

LIHU‘E — The public and representatives of community organizations and agencies are invited to a Community Development Block Grant presentation, which will start at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Pi‘ikoi Building Conference Room B.

The presentation coincides with the celebration of CDBG Week, which runs April 25 to 30 and will show the impact CDBG grants have had to the people of Kaua‘i.

“Attendees can see what services and projects are being delivered through CDBG funding and also get information on how organizations and agencies can apply for future funding,” said Kerrilyn Villa, CDBG Coordinator for the Kaua‘i County Housing Agency.

The CDBG was enacted in 1974 by President Gerald Ford through the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, taking effect in January, 1975. It is one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, states a mayoral proclamation presented by Beth Tokioka of the Mayor’s Office announcing the week-long National Community Development Week observance.

Annual grants to CDBG, which come directly to the county, have been utilized to develop viable community development for activities such as affordable housing, anti-poverty programs and infrastructure development as well as expanding economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income people.

In the 2010 Action Plan presented to the Kaua‘i County Council, the county’s Housing Agency is authorized to receive and expend $861,985 of the County of Kaua‘i’s 2010 CDBG allocation and $20,190 of program income.

These funds cover projects in Public Services, Housing, Public Facilities and Administration including $150,000 to assist with the lease/purchase of the Kaua‘i Fire Department Helicopter to provide air support for brushfire mitigation and aerial reconnaissance, the expenditure falling in Public Facilities; along with $19,802 for pre-construction costs for installation of a photo voltaic electrical generation system for the historic Waimea Theater Complex and $130,000 for Halewili Road Improvements in the ‘Ele‘ele Iluna Subdivision accessing the Kaua‘i Habitat for Humanity’s 125-lot subdivision.

Housing category expenditures include $189,718 for the County Housing Agency to finance low-cost mortgage loads for low- and moderate-income first-time homebuyers to purchase their own home.

In the arena of Public Services, the Women in Need program receives help for Substance Abuse Relapse Prevention ($50,400), and Case Management Self-Sufficiency Program ($50,000).

The county’s Office of Economic Development is allocated $37,500 for the purchase of Mobi-Mats to make festivals and events accessible for mobility-challenged individuals and Alu Like gets $23,828 in aid providing financial education to strengthen individuals’ knowledge and promote economic self-sufficiency and stability.

The Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i gets $18,340 to increase access to legal services in the low- and moderate-income communities of Waimea, Kekaha, Hanalei and Kilauea. Hope, Health and Healing Kaua‘i receives $40,190 to provide substance abuse treatment and services.

Alternative programs, in the event the other projects do not proceed as presented in the CDBG applications, include a Home Purchase Program ($525,000) by the County Housing Agency and a Child Support Clinic ($37,455) by the Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i for conducting child-support clinics to assist low- and moderate-income families to resolve child-support issues on their own through the judicial process.

The county’s Housing Agency has utilized CDBG resources to identify, prioritize and resolve pressing local problems such as affordable housing, development of public and private facilities which primarily benefit low- and moderate-income people, public service needs, job creation and retention and housing and facilities rehabilitation.

For more information, call Villa at 241-4435, or Sharon Kelekoma, CDBG Specialist at the county’s Housing Agency, at 241-4427.