County finalizes priorities for CDBG grants
The Yuma County Board of Supervisors approved the priorities for Community Development Block Grant applications Monday.
The supervisors had previously set the priorities to include basic funding for projects helping or improving Gadsden Park, the Yuma Community Food Bank and Comite De Bien Estar. With Supervisors Chairman Tony Reyes abstaining because he’s also the executive director of Comite De Bien Estar, the board voted to keep those priorities in place along with application priorities for the more competitive funding.
The County can only submit three applications for the most common type of CDBG, which is Regional Account funding. The board prioritized four projects in case they needed an alternative. The backup application asks for funding for Campesinos Sin Fronteras to rehabilitate 15 homes.
The main applications ask for funding for safety improvements and improved disability access for Gadsden Park, 13 new coolers for the food bank to keep food stored and 30 new HVAC units for apartments in San Luis.
The applications are due to the Western Arizona Council of Governments by May 18 and go through a decision process from October to February. Diana Veloz, the county grant administrator, said that the funding from the applications doesn’t come to the county until November or January of the following year. The county only files CDBG applications every two years and the funding is intended to last those two years.
CDBG grants come from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition to the Regional Account funding, HUD offers what are called
State Special Project and Colonia funding, and the county plans to apply for those as well.
The three main applications by the county for Regional Account funding ask for a total of $487,143. The State Special Project application that the county is applying for is asking for $500,000 to rehabilitate five homes in Yuma County. The other colonia project is a $1.9 million application to create a water treatment system for the Tacna area.