Deadline: 15-Sep-21
The Montana Department of Commerce has launched the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public and Community Facilities Grants to help local governments fund construction or rehabilitation of infrastructure and facilities that primarily benefit low- to moderate-income (LMI) Montanans, i.e. individuals earning less than 80% of the area median income.
These projects can target LMI residents and provide direct benefits by improving or creating access to suitable living environments or necessary services, or these projects can provide an area-wide benefit to the entire community as long as at least 51% of the project’s beneficiaries are determined to be LMI.
Eligible Projects
Public and community facilities projects typically involve either construction or rehabilitation of community infrastructure or a community facility that principally benefit residents whose annual income is below 80% of the area median income published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
CDBG financial assistance can be used for a variety of project-related activities, including but not limited to acquisition, construction, architectural/engineering services, documenting compliance with CDBG requirements, legal work, and grant administration.
- Eligible Community Infrastructure Activities: Typically community infrastructure projects include new construction, rehabilitation, or improvements to a community’s water and/or wastewater system. However, other infrastructure projects may include other infrastructure projects such as, storm water systems, and paying for special assessments levied on low- to moderate-income households.
- Eligible Community Facility Activities: Community facility projects typically involve new construction or rehabilitation of facilities that provide a service to predominantly low- to moderate-income persons. Community facilities activities include new construction or rehabilitation of non-rental shelters such as domestic violence shelters or youth homes and new construction or rehabilitation of public facilities such as food banks, head start centers, nursing homes, mental health centers, and senior centers.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants are limited to counties, incorporated cities and towns, and consolidated city-county governments except Billings, Great Falls, and Missoula. A local government may apply for a CDBG grant on behalf of an organization that is ineligible to apply, such as a water or sewer district or nonprofit organizations. In this case, the local government must be the applicant and the official grantee that is ultimately responsible for fulfilling contractual obligations, such as receipting and expending funds and other similar tasks.
- However, applicants may elect to partner with another local government or other entity to prepare an application, complete the project, and document compliance with CDBG requirements. Depending on the applicant’s capacity, staff experience, and available resources, applicants may choose to actively complete every task or limit its involvement to tasks such as approving expenditures and signing certain documents. In any case, applicants should work closely with partner organizations and ensure work done on its behalf is accurate and complete.
- Examples of partner organizations include entities such as water and sewer districts, non-profit organizations, certified regional development corporations, architectural or engineering firms, private consultants, or other qualified, capable entities.
For more information, visit https://comdev.mt.gov/Programs-and-Boards/Community-Development-Block-Grant-Program/Public-and-Community-Facilities