Connellsville council adopts CDBG plans, names Section 504 officer and affirms fair-housing protections

Connellsville — The Connellsville City Council on Oct. 21 approved a package of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) documents and related resolutions, redesignated the city clerk as the municipality’s Section 504 compliance officer, and passed a resolution reaffirming federal and state fair-housing protections.

Council members voted to authorize submission of an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for CDBG funding and adopted the city’s 2025 CDBG Section 3 plan, the 2025 CDBG citizen participation plan, and a residential anti-displacement and relocation assistance plan tied to the CDBG program. The council also formally redesignated the city clerk to serve as the city’s Section 504 compliance officer throughout the implementation of the CDBG program.

The actions set administrative rules the city will follow if it receives CDBG funding. Section 3 plans establish local hiring and contracting preferences for projects using certain federal funds; citizen-participation plans set protocols for public notice and comment; and Section 504 compliance assigns a city official responsibility for ensuring nondiscrimination against people with disabilities in federally assisted programs.

The council also passed a resolution that the city read into the record stating that discrimination in housing transactions because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), familial status, or disability is prohibited under Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (the federal Fair Housing Act) and that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act adds protections for age, ancestry and the use of guide or support animals.

City officials did not specify a dollar amount in the meeting for the CDBG application. The council recorded the motions and voted to adopt the plans and resolutions during the meeting; no further conditions or amendments were recorded on the motions.

The CDBG items were presented as a group and drawn from routine program requirements the city must satisfy to apply for and administer federal block-grant funds. The adoption of these documents creates administrative responsibilities for city staff, including public-notice duties and compliance monitoring if grant funds are awarded.

The council did not debate the technical content of the plans at length during the meeting. City staff confirmed that specific funding amounts and project details would be defined if and when the state awards CDBG funds and associated notices of funding availability are issued.