Jackson board discusses first steps on community development grant
JACKSON TWP — Residents and leaders got a sense of possible future uses of state Community Development Block Grant funding when holding a preliminary discussion on what to do next with the funds.
Kate Molinaro, community development director with M&L Associates, presented the preliminary criteria for using the grant at a Thursday public meeting in Jackson Township.
Jackson, which now qualifies as an eligible Act 179 entitlement community, was awarded $104,350 from the state for 2022 through the grant program. Jefferson, Penn, Slippery Rock and Summit townships are also receiving grants.
A number of types of activities are eligible for funding under the program, including water and sewer line replacements and improvements; housing rehabilitation; construction or improvements to community facilities such as community centers, roads, sidewalks and recreational facilities; public services; removal of architectural barriers; code enforcement; economic development; acquisition of property in support of other activities; demolition and general administration.
A minimum of 70% of these funds must be used by programs that benefit low- and moderate-income people, defined as households with income below 80% of the area median income. The remaining 30% of the funds can be used to assess blight in the region, or address urgent health and welfare needs.
Supervisors and residents discussed the possibility of using the funds to pay for tap-in fees for water in areas experiencing economic difficulties, or using a portion of the money to demolish blighted buildings.
“(The Department of Community and Economic Development) requires the county to apply on behalf of each of those entitlements. The county applies on behalf of all of those individual entitlement municipalities,” Molinaro said. “We call it an application process, but it’s really just telling DCED how you intend to spend the dollars.”
Another public meeting will be held on the topic at a later date before the Oct. 28 deadline, most likely at a Butler County commissioners meeting, said township manager Chris Rearick.
“We will look at options, and what projects are available, and how we want to fund those, or decide if we want to build them up over three years and fund a larger project,” Rearick said. “The meeting tonight was more or less an introductory meeting to the process. We’ll have to discuss it a little further and explore it with the county.”
