County Holds Public Hearing on CDBGs

The Valley County Commissioners hosted their required first public hearing on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funding on Aug. 4 in the Valley County Courthouse. The hearing was to inform the public about the various programs available and how these programs can be used to serve the community, with particular attention to persons of low to moderate income.

Craig Erickson, certified grant writer with Great West Engineering, led the presentation and discussion. He outlined for the gathered interested community members and commissioners some history of CDBGs, eligibility requirements and how an entity such as the Valley County Commissioners might apply for a grant or sponsor applications on behalf of nonprofit agencies or special districts.

Funding for the program originates from the Housing and Urban Development department and has awarded Montana more than $191,000,000 since 1982. Erickson described how projects for limited clientele of disadvantaged groups, such as abused children or elderly persons, are defined and what grant funding they are eligible for.

Funds are also available via the Housing Stabilization Program with the purpose of creating or preserving affordable housing, with a focus on health and safety issues and ADA improvements. A Housing Stabilization Program project, however, must be completed as a collaboration between a local government entity and a nonprofit organization.

Planning Grants funding is also available through the CDBG program, however at this time Valley County is ineligible as they are currently working on a planning grant program for long-term growth.

Members of the community offered their input in person and via emails which were read into the record. A diverse range of requests were presented to the commissioners for their consideration moving forward into the application phase, which happens in September.

Maggan Walstad emailed the commissioners on behalf of the Valley County Community Pool Campaign, stressing the importance of a swimming pool for health, safety and exercise reasons, as well as the economic benefits a pool provides “in terms of heads to beds, restaurant use, etc...”

Bruce Peterson, former county commissioner and mental health advocate, wrote in suggesting the paid presence of a community behavioral health care worker would improve the mental health and substance abuse services offered in Valley County. Peterson noted that the goals of the Valley CARE Coalition would all have positive financial impacts on the city and county governments which would outweigh any investments made in improvement.

Tanja Fransen, head of the National Weather Service in Glasgow, emailed in regarding the lack of affordable housing that is not run down or in need of repair. She wrote, “Affordable homes and apartments are very much needed.” The issue is of concern to the federal employer who struggles to recruit employees to the area and retain them over the long term.

When the meeting was opened up for discussion, a number of county residents asked questions and made requests to the commissioners for consideration. Several residents of St. Marie attended the meeting to discuss the water and sewer treatment system, noting that much of the infrastructure is decades old and out of date, if not completely nonfunctional. Robert Esias, water operator for the community, stressed the need for more sound infrastructure and upgrades, saying it costs more to repair their system now than it does to replace it.

Sue Sather, a nurse in Glasgow, noted the lack of housing for elderly adults who are not ready for a full-care facility yet but are unable to return to their own homes safely upon discharge from the hospital.

The commissioners reviewed the hearing at their regular weekly meeting the next day, Aug. 5. Mary Armstrong noted that she was impressed with the turnout and said she felt they had learned a lot. John Fahlgren seconded the notion and said he felt they had learned about the roles and expectations of all parties who might be involved. Paul Tweten said that if the residents of St. Marie wish to apply for a CDBG grant they should set up a meeting with the commissioners to discuss details further.

All commissioners were in agreement that the time constraints may present a challenge this year, but noted that the grants do come up each year. Any decisions to apply for funding will depend on how much information would be available for an application by Sept. 15, noting that any grant applications may have to be postponed until next year.