Community Development Assistance Program Public Facilities and Housing Rehabilitation Funds Available By JAY HEDGES, Director Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs

Illinois communities that are preparing for the future by developing coordinated plans to improve their public facilities and housing may lack adequate financial resources to fund the projects included in the plans. If their plans include water or sewer system projects or housing rehabilitation, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) may be able to provide assistance through the public facilities and housing component of the Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP). This program is funded by the Community Development Block Grant Program that was established by the Federal Housing and Community Development Act. It is administered by the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Units of general local government (i.e., cities, villages, townships and counties) that have a population of 50,000 or less and are not located in urban counties that receive "entitlement" funds are eligible to apply for CDAP funds.

Many Illinois communities have used CDAP funds to assist in financing projects that have corrected serious deficiencies in public facilities and housing such as replacement of deteriorated water distribution systems, installation of sewage treatment plants and improvement of housing stock to restore declining neighborhoods.

For example, the Village of Sandoval had a serious deficiency in their sanitary sewerage collection system. The sewers in the northeast section of the village had been constructed of concrete in the 1930's. Because concrete is an inadequate material to carry sanitary waste, the acidic action of hydrogen sulfide gas (sewer gas) had dissolved and disintegrated the portion of pipe above the water level. In 1985, the deteriorated pipe caused a major cave-in. An engineering study then confirmed that cave-ins would continue, resulting in a failure of sewer service in that area. Although the village had doubled its water and sewer rates between 1981 and 1982, most of the local funds were committed to plans to construct a raw waterline, a water treatment plant, and a sewage treatment plant. A CDAP grant of $185,175 enabled the village to replace the concrete portion of the system for a total project cost of $249,400.

When the Village of Alto Pass conducted a survey to assess their housing stock, the results indicated that 29 of the community's 101 houses required major rehabilitation. The residents in the substandard houses were low to moderate-income persons who could not afford to make the necessary repairs without assistance. The village received $136,087 in CDAP funds for a housing rehabilitation project. Twenty-one houses were rehabilitated with a combination of CDAP grants, Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) grants, and owner cash equity. Eight of the residents assisted by the project were handicapped individuals. The rehabilitation activities included installation of plumbing facilities, replacement of windows and other repairs to bring the houses up to acceptable living standards. In addition to providing safe and sanitary housing for residents, the project removed a blighted appearance from the Alto Pass community.

Communities that need assistance with public facilities or housing rehabilitation projects may submit applications to DCCA for CDAP Public Facilities and Housing Rehabilitation grants. The maximum grant funding level is $400,000. A community may receive no more than one public facilities and housing grant in a program year. In 1988, the application deadline is July 29. All applications received by the department are reviewed for eligibility of the projects. Eligible projects

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are then ranked and placed into one of four composite ranking categories — maximum, moderate, minimum or no rating — using criteria based on community need, project benefit, and resource leveraging.

CDAP eligibility requirements include documentation that a minimum of 51 percent of the CDAP funds will benefit low to moderate-income persons. The percentage of low to moderate-income persons in the project benefit area may be documented through a local community survey or through the 1980 census data. A higher percentage of benefit to low to moderate-income persons will result in a higher ranking of an application.

In addition, applications for public facilities projects must document that the project will correct an existing and chronic threat to health and safety in the community caused by the lack of or a deficiency in a public facility. Applications for housing rehabilitation projects must describe a strategy to correct a major and serious decline in housing stock in a targeted area of the community. In housing rehabilitation projects, CDAP funds will be used to assist only low to moderate-income households.

The need for CDAP funds by the community is a major factor in evaluation of applications for ranking. Evidence of past or current efforts to secure alternative or additional funds for the project will improve the ranking of an application. Twenty-five percent of the total project must be funded from other sources in order for the application to receive a maximum ranking in the category of resource leveraging.

The CDAP application process also involves coordination with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), the Historic Preservation Agency, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Projects require clearance by each of the agencies prior to implementation. To assure technical feasibility of the project designs for water and sewer projects, the department obtains technical reviews from the IEPA and FmHA.

In conclusion, when Illinois communities that are eligible for CDAP funds have assessed their public facilities and housing stock, they have an opportunity to obtain assistance for correcting serious problems that they identified through the Community Development Assistance Program administered by DCCA.

For further information on this Community Development Assistance Program component, contact Eileen Denham, Department of Commerce and Community Affairs at (217) 785-6142. •

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