City seeking help to gain state funding

Date: 10/27/2010

Oct. 27, 2010

By Katelyn Gendron

Assistant Editor

AGAWAM -- City officials are pulling out the big guns in their attempt to win Agawam's first Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) since 1983.

They've enlisted the help of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) to distribute surveys, collect data and determine target areas in order to compile the most comprehensive, competitive application possible.

"We were told that we were at the bottom of the barrel [for funding] at that time," Deborah Dachos, director of planning and community development, recalled of CDBG applications after 1983. "With the [recent] restructuring of the program, the PVPC came to us and said we should go for it. It's really a daunting task. It's probably the most time consuming grant I've ever worked on."

Andrew Loew, community development planner with the PVPC explained, "In a town the size of Agawam, the state requires that CDBG projects be concentrated in a target area of relatively high need so that any funded projects complement each other and can really impact the community. Right now, the projected target area includes most of north-central Agawam, including the North End and parts of the Springfield Street and Suffield Street corridors."

Proposed projects include new facade and signage on Walnut Street Extension, sidewalk and roadway improvements on Springfield and Bridge streets, housing rehabilitation and preparation of the Americans with Disabilities Act Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan.

Mayor Richard Cohen said the city is aiming for a grant of $800,000, $200,000 more than Agawam received in 1983.

"We can't use public funds for facades or to rehabilitate homes and this money would help business owners and home owners with their needs," he explained.

Loew noted the surveys would determine whether or not proposed projects meet state and federal eligibility requirements. "I encourage residents who haven't returned them to please do so. Depending on the response rate, we may follow up with door-to-door surveying," he said.

The PVPC will host a public hearing about the CDBG in mid-November before the grant application is due Dec. 10, Loew noted.