In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the City of Radford has been awarded an additional $105,448 in Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funding to allocate to activities that address COVID-19 related community needs.
An amendment to the five-year CDBG Consolidated Plan and the Annual Action Plan is now required. “The substantial amendment will program the CDBG-CV funds, along with $40,045 of CDBG funds will be reprogrammed to support Homeless Intervention Programs, Public Service Agencies that are responding to the coronavirus pandemic, and Emergency Supplies and Response,” reads a staement by the city.
The substantial amendments may be viewed on the City’s website, www.radfordva.gov.
“City Staff met and made recommendations on the use of the CDBG-CV and reprogrammed funds, and City Council will consider approval of this substantial amendment at their May 11 meeting,” the statement reads.
“The Cares Act has loosened some requirements for the purpose of an expedited use of the CDBG-CV funding. Usually a 30-day public comment period is required however, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has waived this requirement provided [at least] five days are provided for public comments on each substantial amendment,” the statement continues. “In addition, the Cares Act bill eliminates the cap on the amount of funds a grantee can spend on public services and removes the requirement to hold in-person public hearings in order to comply with national and local social gather requirements. The bill also allows grantees to apply the waiver of statutory regulations to 2019 and 2020 CDBG allocations.”
Public comments are encouraged and should be submitted to Melissa Skelton, Community Development Director for the City of Radford at Melissa.skelton@radfordva.gov. The public comment period runs from Wednesday, May 6, 2020 through Tuesday, May 12, 2020. All comments received will be included in the substantial amendment that is submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
