Community Development Grants

Twenty-nine million dollars in grants is up for grabs from the department of Economic and Community Development this year.

The federally funded Community Development Block Grants promote economic development in cities of 50-thousand people or less.

At an informational event for prospective applicants yesterday, grant program manager Paula Lovett says the grants help small communities build sewer or water lines, broadband capabilities and other infrastructure needs that help lure businesses. Lovett says the money goes quickly.

“It’s way more than we have money for. In the CDBG program last year we had, our requests totaled 54-million and we only had the 29 to allocate, and that’s just in our regular round. That’s not counting all that came in under our industrial development program in the CDBG program.”

There is an additional five-million dollars for the Appalachian areas and another 17-million state dollars under a “fast track” program, which also funds infrastructure development.

Applications are due in late February.