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Carroll County holds public hearing and approves application for CDBG COVID Round 3 funds
Summary
County commissioners opened a federally required public hearing on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) COVID Round 3 funds and approved submitting an application and accepting awards for programs addressing food distribution, rapid rehousing and shelter supports; no county match was required for the described rapid rehousing lines.
The Carroll County Commissioners opened a public hearing on March 27 to accept comment on a proposed Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) COVID Round 3 application and voted to approve submission of the application and to accept any award. The application dedicates funds to food distribution at Westminster Rescue Mission, rapid rehousing through the county’s human services programs and additional rapid rehousing for youth through Citizen Services.
The hearing was led by Celine Steckle, director of Citizen Services, who presented the county’s plan and introduced Deb Standifer from the county grants office. “We are proposing an application that includes 3 different projects,” Steckle said at the hearing, describing the projects as food distribution staffing and equipment for Westminster Rescue Mission; increased rapid rehousing dollars for Human Services Programs (HSP); and increased rapid rehousing for youth administered by Citizen Services. Commissioners subsequently approved a motion to submit the application and accept the award.
Why it matters: CDBG COVID round funding is federal pandemic-relief money carried by ARPA/CDBG processes and can fund short-term homelessness prevention, food stability and support services for low- and moderate-income residents. County staff said the funding will be used primarily as pass-through grants managed by the Local Management Board and partner nonprofits.
What commissioners heard and decided: Standifer confirmed the public notice ran in the Carroll County Times and that the grant application is available through the grants office. Westminster Rescue Mission described a need for additional refrigerated trailer capacity and a generator to avoid food loss during outages; the mission’s staffing request was described as support for existing staff and operations, not new hires. Scott Yard of HSP said the added rapid rehousing dollars would allow HSP to help an additional “5 to 10 individuals” beyond the roughly 30–35 households it already assists, depending on household sizes.
Citizen Services said the youth rapid rehousing program has assisted 21 households (30 adults, 18 children) since 2020 and reported a 92% rate of exit to positive housing. Ed Singer, Local Management Board manager, described the grant as a “pass through” funded entirely by Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) and said, “0 dollar county match.”
The board moved and approved the application submission and acceptance by voice vote. Commissioners closed the public hearing before taking the motion.
What's next: Staff will submit the CDBG COVID Round 3 application to the granting agency and return with details if an award is issued or if any required county approvals follow.
Ending note: County staff told commissioners that this COVID round was among the last pandemic-related rounds available to local jurisdictions, and that other competitive CDBG opportunities exist in normal (non-COVID) cycles for capital projects.
