When
neighborhoods deteriorate, restoring their vitality can be an
overwhelming challenge. Blight, safety and health concerns are
complex and expensive to resolve. But with $1.9 million in Community
Development Block Grant funding from the United States Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and careful administration by
Volusia County’s Community Assistance Division, better days are
ahead for many neighborhoods in need.
“The
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Community
Development Block Grant program provides annual funding to states,
counties and cities that achieve entitlement status,” said Diana
Phillips, Planning andMonitoring Manager of Volusia County’s
Community Assistance Division. “The primary objective of the program
is the development of viable urban communities by providing decent
housing, a suitable living environment and expanding economic
opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income.”
Grants
are awarded to entitlement communities for a wide range of community
development activities directed toward neighborhood revitalization,
economic
development and the provision of improved community facilities and
services. Entitlement communities develop their own programs and
funding priorities. However, the entitlement must give priority to
activities that carry out one of the block grant program’s three
broad national objectives. Program activities must benefit low and
moderate-income families; aid in the prevention or elimination of
slums and blight; or
be used for activities the community certifies are designed to meet
other community development needs having a particular urgency.
Volusia
County Government is responsible for the application,
administration, implementation, reporting and closeout of the
Community Development Block Grant program.
“We work
with 12 municipalities and the unincorporated areas of the county,”
said Phillips. “These areas do not include Port Orange, Daytona
Beach or Deltona, whose populations are large enough to allow for
direct relationships between HUD and each city.”
Volusia
County’s Planning and Monitoring office is responsible for research
and assessment of community needs, planning and developing
strategies for addressing
community needs, making applications for funding to implement
strategies, monitoring established programs for regulatory
compliance, and implementing capital improvements.
However,
this work is not done in a vacuum. HUD requires a high degree of
community
involvement in the determination of needs. In VolusiaCounty,
participating municipalities hold public forums and encourage
citizens to discuss needs and concerns of their neighborhoods,
review proposed program issues and develop recommendations. An
action plan that incorporates findings from these forums is then
published, inviting further public comment before adoption.
The
amount of funding is based on factors that include the census of
low-income families, housing inventories, economic indicators and
more. Volusia County’s Community Assistance Division then allocates
funds to participating cities and selected nonprofit agencies
serving targeted communities. Ultimately, funds are applied to
improving infrastructure, public service activities such as services
for the homeless, or housing, including rehabilitation and
assistance with down payments for qualifying homebuyers.
“It all
adds up to better, safer and more economically viable neighborhoods
throughout
the county,” observed Edward Jasper, director of Volusia County’s
Community Assistance Division.
