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Date: 3/17/2021
EASTHAMPTON – Easthampton has received an $800,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) award to help fund infrastructure improvements and housing rehabilitation programs throughout the city.
The grant, which was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Community Development, will fund the fourth and final construction phase of the Admiral Street neighborhood infrastructure program which will improve the outdated and inefficient infrastructure on Charles Street; a planning study that will evaluate and plan for infrastructure needs in Easthampton’s New City neighborhood; a new aging-in-place grant program for low to moderate income senior citizens to make improvements that will allow them to safely operate in their homes; and a housing rehabilitation program for low to moderate income homeowners to address housing violations.
According to Jamie Webb, the assistant planner for the Easthampton Planning Department, around $340,000 of the grant will go toward the Charles Street phase of infrastructure improvements, $190,000 will go toward a planning study and report of New City, $135,000 will go toward the Housing Rehabilitation program, and $50,000 will go toward the Aging-in-Place program.
The Admiral Street project began about 10 years ago, according to Webb, when the city’s planning director at that time identified storm water drainage issues, as well as sewer line issues. The street surface itself was also falling apart and in bad need of repair.
“The infrastructure on those streets goes back about 100 years for the sewer lines and the storm water,” said Webb. “It was identified as an area of high need.”
The city applied for funding in 2012 for the Admiral Street neighborhood project to do an initial planning study. Easthampton then provided a recommendation for/before construction in that area. Because the total cost for construction far exceeds the $800,000 that Easthampton can acquire each year through the CDBG, the city ended up creating a phasing plan that would help them do construction over the course of a number of years.
The Charles Street phase is expected to begin late spring, and when finished, will complete the Admiral Street neighborhood project.
“And now that that project is almost complete, we are looking into a similar planning study in the New City neighborhood,” said Webb. “What we’ll end up with is a plan for the New City neighborhood that will identify the infrastructure that needs to be improved.”
Much like the Admiral Street project, the planning study for the New City neighborhood will look at sewer lines, storm water drainage, water lines, streets, sidewalks, opportunities for increasing street trees, as well as road and pedestrian crossings.
Since the planning study most likely will not be finished before the next block grant application is due, Webb said that the city will apply for a block grant a year from now to create construction drawings and cost estimates to do the work that is prioritized and identified by the planning study.
Depending on those cost estimates, Easthampton will have to split the construction into phases, which is exactly the path they took during the Admiral project.
“We have to go through a procurement process to hire a consultant to create a plan for New City,” said Webb. “I think it will take about a year to do that planning study.”
One of the main requirements of the CDBG program is that any funds that are spent must have benefits that go towards low and moderate income residents. Because of equity issues, many neighborhoods like Admiral and New City are often overlooked when it comes to financial and economic assistance, which is why a lot of the grant money is going to improvements in those areas.
Easthampton residents who apply for the Housing Rehabilitation and/or Aging-in-Place programs must be in that low to moderate income threshold, according to Webb. A chart that shows the income limits for each household size is available on the Easthampton website at https://easthamptonma.gov/community/news-updates/589-easthampton-receives-800-000-for-infrastructure-improvements-and-housing-rehabilitation-programs.html. Residents can see if they are considered low or moderate income through this chart.
For the aging-in-place program specifically, an Easthampton resident is eligible for up to $5,000 in grant money for in-home improvement if they are over the age of 65 and fall in that low to moderate-income threshold. According to Webb, eligible improvements include, but are not limited to, safety repairs, grab bars, handrails, non-slip stair treads, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, door and window locks, and removal of code violations.
The final CDBG component, the Housing Rehabilitation program, will provide assistance and deferred-payment-loans up to $35,000 to low and moderate-income homeowners to improve unsafe or unhealthy conditions, improve weatherization, and other necessary repairs.
The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) is partnering with Easthampton to assist with these grant programs, according to Webb. “They work with us to help develop and submit the applications to the state,” she said. “They will also be administering the program on our behalf.”
The PVPC will also be administering the Housing Rehabilitation and Aging-in-Place programs on a first come first serve basis. Easthampton residents can be added to the program waitlist by contacting PVPC’s Housing Coordinator Shirley Stephens at 781-6045.