Jonathan Mallahan, Community & Neighborhood Services Director, No Phone Number Available
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 10:19 a.m.
The City of Spokane has partnered with Neighborhood Councils to help fund community based projects that benefit low and moderate income residents through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The CDBG Program is a federal program administered through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Each year, the City of Spokane receives an allocation of funding through the CDBG Program to assist projects that serve low and moderate income individuals. A portion of this allocation is set aside for Neighborhood Councils to partner with local agencies to fund projects serving area residents.
City staff have partnered with representatives from the Community Assembly's Community Development Committee over the past 6 months to develop a strategy for allocating funds to areas with the highest percentage of low and moderate income individuals. Over the next several months, Neighborhood Councils will partner with City staff and local non-profit agencies to develop projects that will be implemented between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. These funds represent a significant investment in local resources to improve community amenities and programs designed to empower local residents.
The process for applying to fund projects has two parts. First, neighborhoods can select from a pre-screened list of projects that meet the eligibility requirements for CDBG funding. Neighborhoods choosing to support projects on this list will need to identify which project(s) they would like to fund/support and identify the funds they pledge to fund that project(s). Second, neighborhoods can choose to forgo the pre-screened list of projects and complete an application on their own. This simple one-page application will help neighborhoods identify the project they would like to fund. Neighborhoods choosing to submit their own application will work closely with City staff to further refine the project scope and eligibility to receive CDBG funding.
City Staff will provide Neighborhood Councils with additional training resources to assist with the application process. Staff will review the application material during the June 2nd CA/CD Committee meeting and again during the June 5th CA meeting. In addition, staff have scheduled 3 separate workshops (by Council District) to assist Neighborhood Councils with their applications.
These workshops will be held:
Neighborhoods will also have the opportunity to request staff training at their monthly council meetings.
Neighborhood Councils will have approximately 5 months to work through this application process. City staff will provide extensive technical support to ensure all projects meet the goals of the CDBG Program. Neighborhoods seeking additional assistance or clarification on this application process are encouraged to contact George Dahl (gdahl@spokanecity.org or 509.625.6036) with the City of Spokane. We are excited about the projects neighborhoods will fund and look forward to reporting back the results to the Spokane community in 2017.
