Monroe County Redevelopment Authority details proposed $663,596 2025 CDBG allocations at public hearing

At a public hearing held during the Monroe County Board of Commissioners meeting on Oct. 15, Jennifer Sharp Peterson, executive director of the Monroe County Redevelopment Authority, presented the county’s proposed use of $663,596 in federal fiscal year 2025 Community Development Block Grant funds.

Peterson said Monroe County proposes to allocate $325,061 to an owner-occupied housing rehabilitation program to complete approximately 10 homes for low-income homeowners earning 80% of area median income (AMI) or less. Peterson said the AMI in Monroe County is $104,400 and that a family of four at 80% AMI would earn less than $83,500. She said Monroe County’s program administration allocation is $71,354, bringing Monroe County’s total to $396,415.

Peterson said the two entitlement boroughs in Monroe County are also proposing projects: East Stroudsburg Borough proposed partial street and road improvements on Walnut, West Broad and Park streets totaling $125,991 with $27,861 in program administration (total $153,647). Stroudsburg Borough proposed street improvements on McConnell Street of $93,098 with $20,436 in program administration (total $113,534).

Peterson said the public comment period would continue through Oct. 13, 2025, and that comments could be directed to her at the Monroe County Redevelopment Authority by phone at (570) 421-4300 or by email at director@monroecountyrda.org, or sent to 701 Main Street, Suite 502, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. She said Monroe County would submit an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for FFY 2025 CDBG funds on Oct. 31, 2025, and that the commissioners would consider passing a resolution approving that application at the Oct. 15 meeting.

Nut graf: The proposed distribution directs the largest share of Monroe County’s entitlement pool to owner-occupied housing rehabilitation aimed at low-income homeowners, with smaller dedicated street-improvement projects proposed by East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg boroughs; the Redevelopment Authority opened a public comment period as part of the CDBG application process to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Peterson provided program-level detail on beneficiary and administrative amounts and the expected number of homes to be served. The housing rehabilitation line is intended for homeowners at or below 80% AMI; Peterson estimated that the award would complete roughly 10 homes. She identified the total county AMI figure and gave the family-of-four threshold as context for eligibility.

The Redevelopment Authority’s presentation did not record a final vote on the CDBG application during the hearing segment included in the meeting transcript. The transcript records that the commissioners would consider a resolution approving the application at the Oct. 15 commissioners meeting; no motion or roll-call vote on that resolution appears in the hearing segment provided.

Ending: Comments on the CDBG proposal were invited to the Redevelopment Authority through the stated period; the Redevelopment Authority will submit the application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development on the date Peterson announced.