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Portage County holds required CDBG public hearing; commissioners approve amendment to 2024 grant
Summary
At a public hearing, county staff outlined Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding options, timelines and eligible activities; the Board of Commissioners approved an amendment to the county27s 2024 CDBG allocation as presented by the Portage County Regional Planning Commission.
Portage County Board of Commissioners convened a public hearing to review Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program options and application timelines and later approved an amendment to the county27s 2024 CDBG allocation as presented by the Portage County Regional Planning Commission.
The hearing opened with Lisa Reeves, planner with the Portage County Regional Planning Commission, saying, "The purpose of today's hearing is to provide citizens with the pertinent information about the Community Development program, including explanation of eligible activities [and] program requirements. This is the first of two public hearings required for submission by the Community Development program grant." Reeves summarized multiple CDBG and related grant programs available to the county and local jurisdictions, including CHIP (Community Housing Impact Preservation), the Homeless Crisis Response Program, Supportive Housing, Critical Infrastructure grants, economic development loan and public infrastructure grants, and flexible CDBG funding.
The hearing highlighted several items county staff said they may pursue. Reeves said Portage County is not eligible this year for the allocation grant but appears likely to be eligible next year at a projected funding level near $630,000, which she said would include an estimated $150,000 for the City of Streetsboro. She described the Critical Infrastructure grant as an option for sewer or water repairs and said pre-applications open in May with formal applications due in June (staff quoted an application deadline of June 11). Reeves said the county would again seek funding for an ADA bathroom project in Nelson Township and that a downtown facade project in Mantua funded through a downtown buildings flexible grant is under way and expected to finish in the coming months.
After the hearing, the commissioners voted to "acknowledge and approve an amendment to the 2024 CDBG Community Development Grant as presented by the Portage County Regional Planning Commission." The roll call recorded Commissioners Sabrina (yes), Jill (yes) and Mike (yes), and the motion carried.
The record shows the Nelson Township ADA bathroom request has been recommended for funding but must clear a final approval step before work proceeds. Reeves also noted prior county applications for critical infrastructure (including sewer work near a CVS and other water-line work) that were not funded on a prior cycle and encouraged local jurisdictions to adjust proposals and reapply. Reeves said staff have been working with the City of Ravenna on a potential Critical Infrastructure submission.
The hearing served the statutory requirement to solicit public input and to explain eligible activities and program constraints; no substantive public comments were offered at the hearing.
Looking ahead, Reeves said staff will submit necessary documentation for the county27s 2024 CDBG amendment and will present related grant applications to the board as projects move from planning to application and contract phases.
