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County consultant urges application for CDBG small‑cities housing grant to serve mobile homes and roof‑replacement needs
Summary
A county‑hired consultant told commissioners there is remaining unmet need in Columbia County for housing rehabilitation and that a new small‑cities CDBG housing application could cover more mobile‑home replacements than the county’s current grant budget allows. Staff said two public hearings are required ahead of an application.
Antonio Jenkins, the county’s consultant on small‑city Community Development Block Grants, briefed the board on an open CDBG cycle and urged the county to consider applying under the housing rehabilitation category.
Jenkins said the county’s current housing rehabilitation grant is near closeout but cannot complete work for several mobile‑home applicants because those homes are beyond repair. He said the state recently relaxed rules that previously limited grantees to one open CDBG at a time, allowing multiple categorical grants (housing rehab, neighborhood revitalization, commercial revitalization) to run concurrently.
Jenkins told the board that for housing rehabilitation the county could request more than the previous $750,000 ceiling and that some counties are seeking up to about $1 million to replace mobile homes and address housing quality standard (HQS) deficiencies. He said reimbursements under CDBG are generally prompt and can be processed by quarter or by finished project, and recommended the board consider an application focused on mobile‑home replacement for households that cannot be repaired within the current grant budget.
County staff noted the state requires two public hearings before a CDBG application for a small city: one to announce the county’s intent to apply and a second to identify the specific application. Jenkins and staff explained timing would be tight for the current cycle and urged the board to set the public‑hearing dates if it wanted to proceed.
No binding commitment to apply was recorded in the minutes; staff said they would schedule the hearings if the board requested them.
