5/9/2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Housing Rehabilitation Substandard housing occupied by income eligible households may be rehabilitated to meet code requirements. Both owner occupied and rental housing may be included. Eligible recipients may be located anywhere in the jurisdiction. Dilapidated housing may be demolished and cleared, and financing is provided to the displaced occupants for replacement housing. Neighborhood Revitalization This category is primarily for potable water and sanitary sewer installation or replacement (including hook-ups), street paving, and drainage improvements in low/moderate income neighborhoods. Funds may also be used to purchase and develop property as sites for low/moderate income housing. Other public improvements to infrastructure are also eligible, but are seldom firrded. The economic development grant category is independent of the other three categories. In the same fiscal year that Indian River County applies for a grant in one of the first three categories, the county may also choose to apply for funds in the economic development category. Even if Indian River County has an open commercial revitalization, housing rehabilitation, or neighborhood revitalization grant, an economic development CDBG application may still be submitted to DCA for consideration. Following is a description of the Economic Development category: Economic Development Funds are available to local governments to provide necessary infrastructure for new businesses or business expansions. Local governments may also lend funds directly to the business for capital expenses (land, building, equipment, site development). Funds from this grant category must be utilized to create jobs or retain existing jeopardized jobs, primarily for low/moderate income persons. In the past, Indian River County has submitted CDBG applications in the neighborhood revitalization and the economic development categories. To date, Indian River County has been awarded only one grant, a neighborhood revitalization grant that funded potable water, paving, and drainage improvements in the Wabasso area. As indicated in a previous sectionof this report, the county has also had an economic development application approved for funding, Economic Dev lonm= (Ateg= To initiate the application process for economic development CDBG funds, the county must have a business that is planning to relocate to Indian River County business that is planning to expand its opfrom outside Florida, or a local erations. In either case, the participating business must be willing to create new job opportunities in Indian River County for low -to -moderate income households and must be willing to match any CDBG funds awarded with its own funds dollar for dollar. A major component of the scoring system for economic development grants is the number of jobs being created by a proposed project. As part of the economic development CDBG application, a ratio of the amount of CDBG fimds being requested per job created is calculated. If that ratio exceeds $34,999rob, the project will be ineligible for CDBG funds. Another evaluation factor for economic development CDBG applications is the investment ratio for the proposed project. The investment ratio compares the amount ofprivate funds committed for investment into the project to the amount of CDBG funds being requested. If the investment ratio is less than one, meaning the amount of private funds being invested into the project is less than the amount of CDBG funds being requested for the project, then the project will be ineligible for CDBG funds. MAY 099 2000 -31- BOOK 1 PAGE 4'J