Cedar COG outlines CDBG services for Clinton County; staff to seek $29,890 reallocation for Iron Furnace rehab

Jamie Sharter, program manager at Cedar COG, told the Clinton County commissioners on May 4 that Cedar COG will again handle application preparation and full grant administration for the county's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) work and that the fee for those services will remain $42,100, the same amount as for 2025.

Sharter said Cedar COG's scope includes application preparation for non-entitlement communities, administration and financial management after a grant is awarded, activity development and subgrants to local project sponsors, procurement support, required environmental reviews, construction bidding and monitoring, and enforcement of federal labor standards.

During questions, Commissioner Richard Harding asked whether proposals at the federal level to cut or reassign CDBG funding to states could threaten the program. Sharter said such proposals appear in budget discussions nearly every year but historically are not enacted when final appropriations are passed; she said she does not anticipate an immediate reduction but acknowledged federal budgets can be uncertain.

Sharter also asked the board to consider a modification to the county's 2024 CDBG allocations. She said Cedar COG recommends moving $29,890 from an owner-occupied housing-rehab project into the Iron Furnace rehab project in Farrantsville because the Iron Furnace needs additional funding to complete its work. Cedar COG said it held the required public hearing two weeks earlier and received no public comments. The commissioners were told the modification will be placed on the agenda for a formal vote at the regular meeting on Thursday.

No vote was taken at the work session; county staff and Cedar COG will return with the formal modification for the scheduled meeting.