Rural Oregon Cities Receive Business Oregon Community Development Block Grants
Business Oregon is supporting eight city projects statewide through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. The CDBG program supports the development of livable communities by expanding economic opportunities and providing suitable housing and living environments for persons of low and moderate income. These eight grants total $10,582,401 and assist rural communities with funding for important projects around the state.
Business Oregon administers the state of Oregon’s annual federal allocation of CDBG funds for non-metropolitan cities and counties. Tribes and urban cities and counties are not included in the state’s program as they receive CDBG funds directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Recipients in this round of funding:
City of Burns: The City of Burns’ Residential Housing Rehabilitation Type 2 grant will provide needed funding for up to 20 low to moderate income families. The funding will be used to alleviate substandard conditions and provide affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing for homeowners in Burns, Hines, and elsewhere in Harney County. The funding will be used for needed repairs and upgrades, energy efficient measures, and addressing health and safety issues.
City of Independence: The City of Independence was awarded CDBG funding to utilize a housing rehabilitation program that will provide home repairs to owner-occupied, low to moderate income households within Independence and the Polk Regional Collaborative (PRC) service area. In partnership with other PRC members, this program could assist as many as 30 eligible households who have no other access to home improvement resources or related financing opportunities. This program provides the opportunity to support household health and safety while also preserving needed housing stock in the PRC service area. Grant funds will be awarded to eligible applicants for making home repairs essential to preserving the structural and service integrity of each home in support of household health and safety.
City of Falls City: Falls City currently operates a Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) system with the drain field located under the Falls City High School football field. The city has experienced wastewater on the football field requiring the city to close the field. The current drain system was installed in the 1980s and needs to be replaced. Falls City is replacing the current recirculating UV gravel filter and drain field treatment with lagoon storage/treatment facility. The CDBG funding will finance construction on the new wastewater treatment plant.
City of Willamina: The City of Willamina’s intake infrastructure is failing due to an eroding riverbank upstream which dumps silt into the city’s system. The silt causes damage to the system and reduces or stops the city’s ability to provide its community with water. In addition, there is a gravel bar that is migrating and has already begun to land on the intake structure. The engineers have advised that the intake will fail within the next two to three years. The long-term water intake improvements include moving the intake to a new location, which will block the migrating gravel bar and is a self-scouring basalt bedrock, which will alleviate the silt fouling the system. The city’s award will be partnered with other secured funding to complete the construction of a new water intake system.
City of Umatilla: The City of Umatilla owns and operates a public water system. The city intends to use their funding to extend water service to Power City and construct a new, compliant, and reliable water distribution system to service the residents of the Power City and Brownell communities (areas located within the City’s Urban Growth Boundary).
City of Sumpter: The city of Sumpter owns a main drinking water contact tank which is in immediate need of replacement. The tank is made of wood, and damage from woodpeckers and natural deterioration have created leaks in the tank. The structural integrity of the tank is compromised and losing the tank would leave the town without drinking water. The city’s water infrastructure is already on the verge of failure, so the increased demand has pushed the city’s system to the brink. The CDBG funding will support the construction of the new water tank.
City of Coquille: The city has identified deficiencies in their water distribution and supply systems due to the antiquated undersized distribution lines that are riddled with cracks and leaks due to the increased pressure of the water tower. Water supply improvements are needed to ensure reliability of operations. The CDBG funding will support the planning and design of the Coquille Water System improvements.
City of Sheridan: The city’s sanitary sewer system experiences high stormwater influx during the wet season, which can result in emergency, unpermitted discharges from the wastewater treatment plant during extreme weather events. The CDBG funding will support completion of the final design and environmental assessment documents to conduct sewer system improvements.
More information on each of these projects, as well as full program information, is available at Oregon.gov/biz/programs/CDBG.
By Business Oregon Press Release
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