Lincoln Park opens CDBG public hearing; residents ask whether funds cover home repairs

Monique, a representative of Lincoln Park's CDBG department, opened a public hearing and outlined the Community Development Block Grant program and how the city seeks resident input on priorities for the upcoming program year. She said the program funds activities that meet HUD's national objectives, including benefiting people of low to moderate income, eliminating slum or blight, and addressing urgent community development needs.

Monique said CDBG dollars can be used for property rehabilitation that addresses health-and-safety issues and structural repairs; she distinguished those activities from the city's down-payment assistance program, which the CDBG office does not administer. "We actually have a program that brings the properties up to code ... the funding used for a particular home renovation project would be for the health and wellness concerns for the home to make it structurally sound," she said.

During the public comment period, Xavier Jones, a Downriver organizer for We The People Action Fund, asked whether the allocation is specifically for housing needs and which housing needs qualify. Jones urged the city to support younger residents and community groups seeking to help implement local priorities. Monique encouraged written comments and funding proposals and said the city will prepare a draft annual action plan for public review before final approval by the mayor and city council.

The hearing record presented an allocation figure that appears garbled in the transcript; city staff did not provide a corrected dollar amount during the meeting. Written comments and proposals were accepted; city staff said the draft plan will be published for public review prior to council action. The public hearing was closed and the meeting returned to regular business.