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Selectboard to hold hearings on CDBG pass-through for 301-unit cooperative infrastructure project
Summary
Goffstown will host the three public hearings required to allow a 301-unit cooperative to apply for Community Development Block Grant funds to replace aging water and sewer lines; presenters said the co-op already secured a $2 million groundwater trust award but needs municipal pass-through to pursue additional grant funding.
The Goffstown Selectboard agreed June 22 to schedule the three public hearings required for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) pass-through application that would help a 301-unit cooperative replace aging water and sewer infrastructure.
Donna Lane, who identified herself as a CDBG consultant, told the board the cooperative is a low- to moderate-income community with about 3.5 miles of private roads and infrastructure nearing 45 years old. "We have 301 homes," she said, adding that the cooperative has an $11 million estimate to replace all infrastructure and is pursuing the work in phases.
Lane said the co-op already secured a $2 million award from a groundwater trust fund to support the water portion of phase one, but that roughly 20% of that award is grant and 80% is loan and the project still needs additional funding for sewer replacement. "Only a municipality can ask for the funds," Lane said, explaining that CDBG (HUD) funds available through the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority require a municipal applicant and thus a town pass-through.
Kicking off the required process, the board agreed to hold the three hearings in one night: a project hearing about submitting an application for up to $750,000, an anti-displacement/relocation assistance plan for federally funded projects, and an adopted Housing and Community Development plan (the latter is valid for three years). The board discussed a tentative date around July 13 for the combined hearings and noted the town will vote after public comment on whether to submit the application and adopt the required plans.
Town Administrator Derek (listed on the meeting packet) and the presenters outlined Town responsibilities if the grant proceeds: the town would initially disburse small administrative costs (for example, legal review or newspaper notices) and then seek reimbursement from CDBG funds; the presenters emphasized that the program is structured so the town is not on the hook for loan repayment in normal circumstances.
The board did not commit the town to funding the cooperative; members said they wanted to hear public input at the hearings before making a final decision. The next procedural step is the advertised public hearings and then a board vote to submit the application and adopt the anti-displacement and housing plans.
