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City of DeLand reviews Community Development Block Grant process and possible county allocation change
Summary
Planner Emily Kunkel outlined CDBG rules, HUD eligibility mapping and the city’s relationship with Volusia County; staff said the county is discussing a move from formula allocations to a competitive process among subrecipients.
Emily Kunkel, Planner II for the City of DeLand, presented the annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) overview and solicited public comment on proposed projects for fiscal year 2025–26.
Kunkel explained the CDBG is a federal entitlement program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and said it is governed by federal regulation (presented in the meeting as "24 CFR 5 70"). She summarized the program’s primary objective: "The primary objective is to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, suitable living environments, and expanding economic opportunities for persons of low and moderate income." Kunkel said the City of DeLand is a subrecipient of Volusia County for CDBG and manages non-housing requests while Volusia County Community Assistance manages housing requests.
Kunkel reviewed HUD eligibility mapping (Census block groups) and explained that most projects seek the ‘‘area benefit’’ national objective: an activity must benefit all residents of a service area in which at least 51% of residents qualify as low- and moderate-income (LMI). She said the city has not yet received the FY2025–26 allocation amount; she presented FY2024–25 allocations as context: the City of DeLand’s allocation for the prior year was $185,345, of which capital-improvement projects made up about $157,543 (roughly 85%) and public service activities about $27,802 (roughly 15%).
Kunkel told the commission that Volusia County staff have discussed moving from HUD Formula A (historical formula allocations) to a competitive allocation process among the county’s subrecipients. "At this time, it is just a discussion," she said, and staff are compiling lists of potential projects under both a formula and a competitive model in case the county changes processes.
Kunkel encouraged residents to submit project ideas for capital improvements and public-service activities and noted projects must be environmentally cleared by the county, receive authorization from HUD and be completed within the fiscal year on a reimbursement basis.
Commissioners asked about the statutory or regulatory citation and population thresholds for direct entitlement status; staff said a jurisdiction generally becomes an entitlement when population reaches 50,000 residents, and the City of DeLand remains a subrecipient of Volusia County for the coming fiscal year. Kunkel provided her contact information for follow-up inquiries and said staff will publish additional materials and accept public comment as the allocation figure becomes available.
No action or appropriation was taken at the meeting; the item was informational and intended to solicit public input and summarize program rules.
