City slates action plan meetings
Published 8:11 am Saturday, April 25, 2015
The city will host public hearings and neighborhood meetings later this month to discuss the Lake Charles 2015 action plan. The plan details the city’s application of Community Development Block Grants and Home Investment Partnership Act funds.
The first meeting will be at 6 p.m. Monday, April 28, in the Martin Luther King Community Center, at 2009 North Simmons St. The second will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 326 Pujo St.
The action plan is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the city to receive the grants and Home Investment Partnership funding. Identified within the plan are the specific programs and activities to be undertaken using the federal money.
The city anticipates receiving $635,510 in grant funds and $229,300 in Home Investment Partnership funds, officials said. The funds are made available to the city on an annual basis from HUD.
“Under the CDBG, we have a part that we give to the nonprofits of the community, which is the public services. HUD says we have to give 15 percent of that $635,510 to the community,” said Esther Vincent, Lake Charles city director of community services.
“So in these meetings, we are going to talk about public services and if people are interested in applying for a grant, we will have applications there and we’ll tell them what the deadlines are. Then we’ll also have an independent committee come look at them and we’ll make a decision on who will get the grants.”
The action plan provides a framework for the activities and expenditures for housing, homeless needs and community development issues, including public services, infrastructure and improvements, as well as economic development, Vincent said.
The goal with the meetings is to keep the community engaged while also spreading information about the available funds, Vincent said. 2014’s public hearings and neighborhood meetings for the plan were well attended by residents, she said.
“We’re hoping to get more people to come out because this is money that’s designated for the community,” Vincent said.
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For more information, call the community development office at 491-1440.
(American Press Archives)
