The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) has announced two Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) were awarded to two projects in Lonoke County.
Lonoke County received a $500,000 grant to build a developmentally disabled vocational training facility. The vocational training facility will be near Cabot. Central Arkansas Planning and Development District, Inc. (CAPDD) handles the application development, application submission, and administering of the awarded grant to ensure all HUD guidelines are followed.
"It's going to be a really big asset to Lonoke County and to those with developmental disabilities," said Conya Spencer, Director of Economic Development for CAPDD.
This project was also awarded an additional $500,000 DRA grant that CAPDD helped procure.
The City of Lonoke received a $498,874 grant to rehabilitate sewer lines. The grant will help wastewater rehabilitate a portion of the sanitary sewer system, which is on the East side of town on Brown Street, Palm Street, and parts of Fletcher Street. CAPDD was the grant administrator and applied on behalf of the City of Lonoke. CAPDD and the city held a community meeting to discuss areas of improvement needed.
"The system is old, antiquated, and failing," said Leigh Ann Pool, Director of Environmental Management for CAPDD. "They're not moving the pipe but upgrading."
An engineer has been procured. The next steps are preparing the plans, and specs and hiring a contractor. Pool said once this portion of the project is completed, CAPDD and the City of Lonoke will apply for additional grants to continue rehabilitating sewer lines.
In total, AEDC awarded $8,478,624 to 17 Arkansas cities and counties, including:
• Columbia County, $500,000, after-school youth center
• Dierks, Howard County, $499,743, water system improvements
• Dumas, Desha County, $499,935, sewer system improvement
• East Camden, Ouachita County, $499,420, sewer system improvements
• Garland City, Miller County, $500,000, pond levee improvements
• Hope, Hempstead County, $500,000, wastewater system improvements
• Jennette, Crittenden County, $500,000, water system improvements
• Kensett, White County, $499,750, wastewater treatment plant improvements
• Kingsland, Cleveland County, $500,000, pump station improvements and pipe repairs
• Lockesburg, Sevier County, $500,000, water tank improvements
• Logan County, $485,556, senior center renovations
• Lonoke, Lonoke County, $498,874, sewer line rehabilitation
• Lonoke County, $500,000, developmentally disabled vocational training facility
• Pangburn, White County, $500,000, wastewater collection system rehabilitation
• Peach Orchard, Clay County, $498,920, water line rehabilitation
• Sparkman, Dallas County, $496,426, wastewater rehabilitation
• Van Buren County, $500,000, road improvements
The grants were awarded under the General Assistance set-aside, part of Arkansas's $17.8 million FY 2023 formula grant allocation, designed to provide communities the opportunity to apply for various non-housing public facility and public infrastructure projects. The funds are from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Community Development Block Grant State Program for Small Cities.
“When the federal government works right, in coordination with state and local experts, the results can be fantastic. The Community Development Block Grant program is a great example of state and federal collaboration,” said Governor Sanders. “This year’s seventeen recipients come from all across our state, from Garland City in the southwest to Peach Orchard in the northeast. Each one of these grants advances our administration’s priorities of improving our education system, investing in workforce readiness, and ensuring that every Arkansan has access to safe and clean drinking water.”
AEDC is highlighting the awards in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the CDBG Program. CDBG was enacted by Congress in 1974 under the Housing and Community Development Act. The program funds communities nationwide to address infrastructure, economic development, housing, disaster recovery, and other community needs.
“Across Arkansas, there are thriving communities that are laying the foundation for future economic success and improving the lives of their citizens,” said Clint O’Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. “The Community Development Block Grants help local communities to strengthen that foundation to provide excellent quality of life and a great business environment for companies.”
Since the program's inception in Arkansas in 1983, more than $900 million has been awarded for 2,390 projects impacting more than 5.16 million Arkansans.
Funds are awarded annually to counties and municipalities.
“The Community Development Block Grant remains one of the most important grant resources for the State of Arkansas and local governments and their non-profit and other partners to utilize in designing flexible solutions to meet community development needs,” said Jean Noble, director of AEDC’s Grants Division. “We are proud to recognize the awardees for their hard work and dedication to addressing their highest priority community needs and administering these funds effectively back in local cities and counties. We look forward to partnering on these successful projects!”
Eligible communities must have a population of less than 50,000 and at least 51 percent of the people benefitting from the project must be considered low or moderate-income, or the project must meet another CDBG national objective, which is preventing slum or blight, or meet an urgent need. All Arkansas cities and counties are eligible for the grant program except for 14 cities that receive CDBG funds directly from HUD.
For more information on the Arkansas Small Cities CDBG or CDBG-CV program, visit https://www.arkansasedc.com/grants.
For more information about CAPDD's Community and Economic Development programs, visit https://www.capdd.org/community-development.
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