Grants aid local programsDate: 7/12/2011 July 13, 2011
By Debbie Gardner
Assistant Editor
GREATER SPRINGFIELD — The towns of Southwick and West Springfield were among 41 communities across the state to recently learn they would be receiving supplemental funding under the latest round Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).
Notification that these communities would be splitting a pot that totaled $28 million came from the Patrick-Murray Administration on July 7. According to press materials provided by Gov. Deval Patrick’s office, these federally-funded CDBG grants are awarded to support housing, infrastructure, business development and public service projects.
The town of Southwick is slated to receive $900,000 in CDBG funds, to be used to rehabilitate eight units of low-income housing and expansion of the town’s Senior Center.
According to a joint release from State Sen. Michael Knapik and State Rep. Nicholas Boldyga, the Southwick grant will be used to add nearly 2,000 square feet to the town’s heavily used Senior Center, expanding it to 8,400 square feet.
“I advocated for this grant as a former selectman and I was pleased to inform Southwick of the award as our state representative,” Boldyga told Reminder Publications. “This grant will bring jobs to the area and a much-needed expansion to our senior center.”
The second portion of the award will be used by the town’s Housing Rehabilitation Program to address building code violations, structural deficiencies and update heating and plumbing in eight low- to moderate-income housing units.
“I am thrilled Southwick’s application was looked upon favorably during this very competitive grant round,” Knapik said in his release. “This award is a testament to the hard work and determination of the town’s local officials who continuously look to improve their community.”
The town of West Springfield will receive $1 million in CDBG funding to support projects ranging from housing rehabilitation and neighborhood code enforcement to playground renovations and new sidewalks in the tornado-ravaged Merrick section of town. Part of the grant will also be used to support a variety of social service initiatives, including housing and family counseling, English as a second language learning and summer youth programs.
“I can’t emphasize how important these funds are to us because we would not be able to get the social services and physical projects in that area without it,” West Springfield Mayor Edward Gibson said. “[This grant] is very beneficial to the town and to the individuals that live in [the Merrick] neighborhood.”
He noted his concern about the viability of federal grant program as “CDBG money has been on the chopping block.” Despite this, West Springfield “got everything we asked for,” Gibson said.
He explained that 50 percent of the grant would be used for housing rehabilitation, 20 percent would go toward the Merrick sidewalk project — “which will get done next spring” — and “a little under” 10 percent would be used to upgrade the Center playground equipment located behind Coburn Elementary School on Southworth Street.
Housing grants, he said, are awarded to homeowners who meet certain criteria through a lottery system, with the awards used to make necessary repairs to bring their residences up to code. Gibson did not know if the applications were submitted before the June 1 tornado ravaged the Merrick section of town.
“This is a separate plan that [Director of the Office of Community Development] Joe [Laplante] does,” Gibson said. “The $1 million [request] covers an 18-month period. It’s projects that basically are in the Merrick neighborhood and they are planned long before the grants get released.”
Laplante said that, coincidentally, the lottery for code upgrade money took place on June 2 — the day after the tornado hit the Merrick section — and that many of the homes selected were ravaged by the storm.
“There were 700 units in the path of the tornado,” Laplante said. “Every house needs some level of repair.”
He added most of the housing stock in that neighborhood was constructed prior to or during the 1930s, and is in need of system upgrades to meet current housing code regulations.
Gibson added that the CDBGs are the only way these particular projects could be funded.
State Sen. James Welch said he was pleased West Springfield had received such a generous award, and that the money was earmarked for an area that was so hard hit on June 1.
“It’s certainly money that will go a long way,” Welch said. “It’s an area that obviously suffered a difficult time over the past few months [and] together with other rehabilitation projects ... will have a very positive affect on the community.”
Debbie Gardner can be reached by e-mail at debbieg@thereminder.com
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