Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 5821

grants, on or after October 1, 2003. 

Organizations can receive a DUNS 

number at no cost by calling the 

dedicated toll-free DUNS Number 

request line at 1–866–705–5711. 

Additional information concerning this 

requirement is provided in a policy 

directive issued by OMB and published 

in the Federal Register on June 27, 2003 

(Vol. 68, No. 124, pages 38402–38405). 

C. Applicants are advised to contact 

the Rural Development State Office 

serving the place in which they desire 

to submit an application for application 

information.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2592 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service 

Notice of Timeframe to Submit 

Applications for the Section 515 Rural 

Rental Housing Program for Fiscal 

Year 2004

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This Notice announces the 

timeframe for submitting applications 

for the section 515 Rural Rental Housing 

Program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004. The 

Rural Housing Service (RHS) is 

publishing this Notice prior to passage 

of a final appropriations act to give 

applicants the maximum amount of 

time possible to complete their 

applications, to provide the Agency 

sufficient time to process the selected 

applications within the current fiscal 

year, and in order to comply with 7 CFR 

1944.231. Because the Agency’s 

appropriations act has not been passed, 

applicants are cautioned that the 

Agency cannot make commitments 

based on the anticipated funding. 

Expenses incurred in developing 

applications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. 

Additional Application Information 

Applications may be submitted for 

section 515 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) 

new construction loan funds and 

section 521 Rental Assistance (RA). 

Section 515 funds include the nonprofit 

set-aside for eligible nonprofit entities 

and the set-aside for the most 

Underserved Counties and Colonias 

(Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable 

Housing Act). Section VI of this Notice 

gives additional information regarding 

the set-asides.

DATES: The closing deadline for receipt 

of all applications, including those for 

the set-asides, in response to this Notice 

is 5 p.m., local time for each Rural 

Development State Office on April 6, 

2004. The application deadline is firm 

as to date and hour. RHS will not 

consider any application that is received 

after the closing deadline. Applicants 

intending to mail applications must 

provide sufficient time to permit 

delivery on or before the closing 

deadline date and time. Acceptance by 

the United States Postal Service or 

private mailer does not constitute 

delivery. Facsimile and postage due 

applications will not be accepted.

ADDRESSES: Applicants wishing to apply 

for assistance must contact the Rural 

Development State Office serving the 

place in which they desire to submit an 

application for rural rental housing to 

receive further information and copies 

of the application package. Rural 

Development will date and time stamp 

incoming applications to evidence 

timely receipt, and, upon request, will 

provide the applicant with a written 

acknowledgment of receipt. A listing of 

Rural Development State offices, their 

addresses, telephone numbers, and 

person to contact follows:

Note: Telephone numbers listed are not 

toll-free.

Alabama State Office 

Suite 601, Sterling Centre, 4121 

Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 

36106–3683, (334) 279–3455, TDD (334) 

279–3495, James B. Harris. 

Alaska State Office 

800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 

99645, (907) 761–7740, TDD (907) 761–

8905, Deborah Davis. 

Arizona State Office 

Phoenix Corporate Center, 3003 N. Central 

Ave., Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012–

2906, (602) 280–8765, TDD (602) 280–

8706, Johnna Vargas. 

Arkansas State Office 

700 W. Capitol Ave., Room 3416, Little 

Rock, AR 72201–3225, (501) 301–3250, 

TDD (501) 301–3063, Cathy Jones. 

California State Office 

430 G Street, #4169, Davis, CA 95616–

4169, (530) 792–5830, TDD (530) 792–

5848, Jeff Deiss. 

Colorado State Office 

655 Parfet Street, Room E100, Lakewood, 

CO 80215, (720) 544–2923, TDD (800) 

659–2656, Mary Summerfield. 

Connecticut 

Served by Massachusetts State Office. 

Delaware and Maryland State Office 

4607 South Dupont Highway, PO Box 400, 

Camden, DE 19934–9998, (302) 697–

4353, TDD (302) 697–4303, Pat Baker.

Florida & Virgin Islands State Office 

4440 NW 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 

32606–6563, (352) 338–3465, TDD (352) 

338–3499, Joseph P. Fritz. 

Georgia State Office 

Stephens Federal Building, 355 E. Hancock 

Avenue, Athens, GA 30601–2768, (706) 

546–2164, TDD (706) 546–2034, Wayne 

Rogers. 

Guam 

Served by Hawaii State Office. 

Hawaii State Office 

(Services all Hawaii, American Samoa and 

Western Pacific), Room 311, Federal 

Building, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, 

HI 96720, (808) 933–8309, TDD (808) 

933–8321, Thao Khamoui. 

Idaho State Office 

Suite A1, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Boise, ID 

83709, (208) 378–5628, TDD (208) 378–

5644, LaDonn McElligott. 

Illinois State Office 

2118 West Park Court, Suite A, Champaign, 

IL 61821–2986, (217) 403–6222, TDD 

(217) 403–6240, Barry L. Ramsey. 

Indiana State Office 

5975 Lakeside Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 

46278, (317) 290–3100 (ext. 423), TDD 

(317) 290–3343, John Young. 

Iowa State Office 

210 Walnut Street Room 873, Des Moines, 

IA 50309, (515) 284–4666, TDD (515) 

284–4858, Julie Sleeper. 

Kansas State Office 

1303 SW. First American Place, Suite 100, 

Topeka, KS 66604–4040, (785) 271–2721, 

TDD (785) 271–2767, Virginia M. 

Hammersmith. 

Kentucky State Office 

771 Corporate Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, 

KY 40503, (859) 224–7325, TDD (859) 

224–7422, Paul Higgins. 

Louisiana State Office 

3727 Government Street, Alexandria, LA 

71302, (318) 473–7962, TDD (318) 473–

7655, Yvonne R. Emerson. 

Maine State Office 

967 Illinois Ave., Suite 4, PO Box 405, 

Bangor, ME 04402–0405, (207) 990–

9110, TDD (207) 942–7331, Dale D. 

Holmes. 

Maryland 

Served by Delaware State Office. 

Massachusetts, Connecticut, & Rhode Island 

State Office 

451 West Street, Amherst, MA 01002, (413) 

253–4315, TDD (413) 253–4590, Paul 

Geoffroy. 

Michigan State Office 

3001 Coolidge Road, Suite 200, East 

Lansing, MI 48823, (517) 324–5192, TDD 

(517) 337–6795, Philip Wolak. 

Minnesota State Office 

375 Jackson Street Building, Suite 410, St. 

Paul, MN 55101–1853, (651) 602–7804, 

TDD (651) 602–7830, Joyce Vondal. 

Mississippi State Office 

Federal Building, Suite 831, 100 W. Capitol 

Street, Jackson, MS 39269, (601) 965–

4325, TDD (601) 965–5850, Darnella 

Smith-Murray. 

Missouri State Office 

601 Business Loop 70 West, Parkade 

Center, Suite 235, Columbia, MO 65203, 

(573) 876–0990, TDD (573) 876–9480, 

Colleen James. 

Montana State Office 

Unit 1, Suite B, 900 Technology Blvd., 

Bozeman, MT 59715, (406) 585–2551, 

TDD (406) 585–2562, Deborah Chorlton. 

Nebraska State Office 

5822 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

Federal Building, Room 152, 100 

Centennial Mall N., Lincoln, NE 68508, 

(402) 437–5594, TDD (402) 437–5093, 

Phil Willnerd. 

Nevada State Office, 1390 South Curry Street, 

Carson City, NV 89703–9910, (775) 887–

1222 (ext. 25), TDD (775) 885–0633, 

Angilla Denton. 

New Hampshire State Office 

Concord Center, Suite 218, Box 317, 10 

Ferry Street, Concord, NH 03301–5004, 

(603) 223–6046, TDD (603) 229–0536, 

Jim Fowler.

New Jersey State Office 

5th Floor North Suite 500, 8000 Midlantic 

Dr., Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054, (856) 787–

7740, TDD (856) 787–7784, George Hyatt, 

Jr. 

New Mexico State Office 

6200 Jefferson St., NE., Room 255, 

Albuquerque, NM 87109, (505) 761–

4944, TDD (505) 761–4938, Carmen N. 

Lopez. 

New York State Office 

The Galleries of Syracuse, 441 S. Salina 

Street, Suite 357 5th Floor, Syracuse, NY 

13202, (315) 477–6419, TDD (315) 477–

6447, George N. Von Pless. 

North Carolina State Office 

4405 Bland Road, Suite 260, Raleigh, NC 

27609, (919) 873–2066, TDD (919) 873–

2003, Bill Hobbs. 

North Dakota State Office 

Federal Building, Room 208, 220 East 

Rosser, PO Box 1737, Bismarck, ND 

58502, (701) 530–2049, TDD (701) 530–

2113, Kathy Lake. 

Ohio State Office 

Federal Building, Room 507, 200 North 

High Street, Columbus, OH 43215–2477, 

(614) 255–2418, TDD (614) 255–2554, 

Melodie Taylor-Ward. 

Oklahoma State Office 

100 USDA, Suite 108, Stillwater, OK 

74074–2654, (405) 742–1070, TDD (405) 

742–1007, Phillip F. Reimers. 

Oregon State Office 

101 SW Main, Suite 1410, Portland, OR 

97204–3222, (503) 414–3325, TDD (503) 

414–3387, Bill Daniel. 

Pennsylvania State Office 

One Credit Union Place, Suite 330, 

Harrisburg, PA 17110–2996, (717) 237–

2282, TDD (717) 237–2261, Martha E. 

Hanson. 

Puerto Rico State Office 

IBM Plaza, Suite 601, Munoz Rivera 

Avenue #654, Hato Rey, PR 00918, (787) 

766–5095 (ext. 249), TDD (787) 766–

5332, Lourdes Colon. 

Rhode Island, 

Served by Massachusetts State Office. 

South Carolina State Office 

Strom Thurmond Federal Building, 1835 

Assembly Street, Room 1007, Columbia, 

SC 29201, (803) 253–3432, TDD (803) 

765–5697, Larry D. Floyd. 

South Dakota State Office 

Federal Building, Room 210, 200 Fourth 

Street, SW., Huron, SD 57350, (605) 352–

1135, TDD (605) 352–1147, Roger 

Hazuka. 

Tennessee State Office 

Suite 300, 3322 West End Avenue, 

Nashville, TN 37203–1084, (615) 783–

1375, TDD (615) 783–1397, G. Benson 

Lasater. 

Texas State Office 

Federal Building, Suite 102, 101 South 

Main, Temple, TX 76501, (254) 742–

9765, TDD (254) 742–9712, Michael W. 

Meehan. 

Utah State Office 

Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 

S. State Street, Room 4311, Salt Lake 

City, UT 84138, (801) 524–4323, TDD 

(801) 524–3309, Dave Brown. 

Vermont State Office 

City Center, 3rd Floor, 89 Main Street, 

Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 828–6028, 

TDD (802) 223–6365, Sandra Mercier. 

Virgin Islands 

Served by Florida State Office. 

Virginia State Office 

Culpeper Building, Suite 238, 1606 Santa 

Rosa Road, Richmond, VA 23229, (804) 

287–1596, TDD (804) 287–1753, CJ 

Michels. 

Washington State Office 

1835 Black Lake Blvd. Suite B, Olympia, 

WA 98512, (360) 704–7731, TDD (360) 

704–7760, Robert L. Lund. 

Western Pacific Territories 

Served by Hawaii State Office. 

West Virginia State Office 

Federal Building, 75 High Street, Room 

320, Morgantown, WV 26505–7500, 

(304) 284–4889, TDD (304) 284–4836, 

Craig St. Clair.

Wisconsin State Office 

4949 Kirschling Court, Stevens Point, WI 

54481, (715) 345–7608 (ext. 151), TDD 

(715) 345–7614, Sherry Engel. 

Wyoming State Office 

100 East B, Federal Building, Room 1005, 

P.O. Box 820, Casper, WY 82602, (307) 

261–6315, TDD (307) 261–6333, Jack 

Hyde.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

general information, applicants may 

contact Barbara Chism, Senior Loan 

Specialist, Multi-Family Housing 

Processing Division, Rural Housing 

Service, United States Department of 

Agriculture, Stop 0781, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, 20250–0781, telephone 

(202) 690–1436 (voice) (this is not a toll 

free number) or (800) 877–8339 (TDDFederal Information Relay Service).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Programs Affected 

The Rural Rental Housing program is 

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance under Number 10.415, Rural 

Rental Housing Loans. Rental 

Assistance is listed in the Catalog under 

Number 10.427, Rural Rental Assistance 

Payments. 

Discussion of Notice 

I. Authority and Distribution 

Methodology 

A. Authority 

Section 515 of the Housing Act of 

1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) provides RHS 

with the authority to make loans to any 

individual, corporation, association, 

trust, Indian tribe, public or private 

nonprofit organization, consumer 

cooperative, or partnership to provide 

rental or cooperative housing and 

related facilities in rural areas for verylow, low, or moderate income persons 

or families, including elderly persons 

and persons with disabilities. Rental 

assistance (RA) is a tenant subsidy for 

very-low and low-income families 

residing in rural rental housing facilities 

with RHS financing and may be 

requested with applications for such 

facilities. 

B. Distribution Methodology 

Nine percent of any appropriation 

will be set aside for eligible nonprofit 

entities and five percent will be set 

aside for the most Underserved Counties 

and Colonias (Cranston-Gonzalez 

National Affordable Housing Act). 

Additional information regarding 

distribution of funds will be provided 

when the appropriations act is passed. 

C. Section 515 New Construction Funds 

For fiscal year 2004, the 

Administrator has determined that it is 

not practical to allocate funds to States 

because of funding limitations; 

therefore, section 515 new construction 

funds will be distributed to States based 

on a National competition, as follows: 

1. States will accept, review, score, 

and rank requests in accordance with 7 

CFR part 1944, subpart E. The scoring 

factors are: 

(a) The presence and extent of 

leveraged assistance for the units that 

will serve RHS income-eligible tenants 

at basic rents comparable to those if 

RHS provided full financing, computed 

as a percentage of the RHS total 

development cost (TDC). RHS TDC 

excludes non-RHS eligible costs such as 

a developer’s fee. The required 

applicant contribution is not considered 

leveraged assistance. Leveraged 

assistance includes loans and grants 

from other sources, contributions from 

the applicant above the required 

contribution indicated by the Sources 

and Uses Comprehensive Evaluation 

(available from the Rural Development 

State Office) and tax abatements or other 

savings in operating costs provided that, 

at the end of the abatement period when 

the benefit is no longer available, the 

basic rents are comparable to or lower 

than the basic rents if RHS provided full 

financing. Loan proposals that include 

secondary funds from other sources that 

have been requested but have not yet 

been committed will be processed as 

follows: the proposal will be scored 

based on the requested funds, provided 

(1) the applicant includes evidence of a 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 5823

filed application for the funds; and (2) 

the funding date of the requested funds 

will permit processing of the loan 

request in the current funding cycle, or, 

if the applicant does not receive the 

requested funds, will permit processing 

of the next highest ranked proposal in 

the current year. Points will be awarded 

in accordance with the following table. 

(0 to 20 points)

Percentage of leveraging Points 

75 or more .................................... 20 

70–74 ............................................ 19 

65–69 ............................................ 18 

60–64 ............................................ 17 

55–59 ............................................ 16 

50–54 ............................................ 15 

45–49 ............................................ 14 

40–44 ............................................ 13 

35–39 ............................................ 12 

30–34 ............................................ 11 

25–29 ............................................ 10 

20–24 ............................................ 9 

15–19 ............................................ 8 

10–14 ............................................ 7 

5–9 .............................................. 6 

0–4 .............................................. 0 

(b) The units to be developed are in 

a colonia, tribal land, Empowerment 

Zone (EZ), Enterprise Community (EC), 

or Rural Economic Area Partnership 

(REAP) community, or in a place 

identified in the State Consolidated Plan 

or State Needs Assessment as a high 

need community for multifamily 

housing. (20 points)

(c) In states where RHS has an ongoing formal working relationship, 

agreement, or Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) with the State to 

provide State resources (State funds, 

State RA, HOME funds, Community 

Development Block Grant (CDBG) 

funds, or Low-Income Housing Tax 

Credits) for RHS proposals; or where the 

State provides preference or points to 

RHS proposals in awarding such State 

resources, 20 points will be provided to 

loan requests that include such State 

resources in an amount equal to at least 

5 percent of the total development cost. 

Native American Housing and Self 

Determination Act (NAHASDA) funds 

may be considered a State Resource if 

the Tribal Plan for NAHASDA funds 

contains provisions for partnering with 

RHS for multifamily housing. (National 

Office initiative) 

(d) The loan request includes donated 

land meeting the provisions of 7 CFR 

1944.215(r)(4). (5 points) 

2. The National Office will rank all 

requests nationwide and distribute 

funds from any FY 2004 appropriation 

to States in rank order, within funding 

and RA limits. A lottery will be used for 

applications with tied point scores 

when they all cannot be funded. If 

insufficient funds or RA remain for the 

next ranked proposal, then that 

applicant will be given a chance to 

modify their application to bring it 

within remaining funding levels. This 

will be repeated for each next ranked 

eligible proposal until an award can be 

made or the list is exhausted. 

D. Applications That Do Not Require 

New Construction Rental Assistance 

The Agency is inviting applications to 

develop units in markets that do not 

require RA. The market study for nonRA proposals must clearly demonstrate 

a need and demand for the units by 

prospective tenants at income levels 

that can support the proposed rents 

without tenant subsidies. The proposed 

units must offer amenities that are 

typical for the market area at rents that 

are comparable to conventional rents in 

the market for similar units. 

E. Set-Asides 

Loan requests will be accepted for the 

following set-asides: 

1. Nonprofit set-aside. Nine percent of 

any appropriation act funding for the 

section 515 program will be set aside for 

nonprofit applicants. All loan proposals 

must be in designated places in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart E. A State or jurisdiction may 

receive one proposal from this set-aside, 

which cannot exceed $1 million. A State 

could get additional funds from this setaside if any funds remain after funding 

one proposal from each participating 

State. If there are insufficient funds to 

fund one loan request from each 

participating State, selection will be 

made by point score. If there are any 

funds remaining, they will revert to the 

National Office reserve. Funds from this 

set-aside will be available only to 

nonprofit entities, which may include a 

partnership that has as its general 

partner a nonprofit entity or the 

nonprofit entity’s for-profit subsidiary 

which will be receiving low-income 

housing tax credits authorized under 

section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code 

of 1986. To be eligible for this set-aside, 

the nonprofit entity must be an 

organization that: 

(a) Will own an interest in the project 

to be financed and will materially 

participate in the development and the 

operations of the project; 

(b) Is a private organization that has 

nonprofit, tax exempt status under 

section 501(c)(3) or section 501(c)(4) of 

the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

(c) Has among its purposes the 

planning, development, or management 

of low-income housing or community 

development projects; and 

(d) Is not affiliated with or controlled 

by a for-profit organization. 

[As a point of clarification, the 

partnership may have only one general 

partner, which must meet the above 

requirements. A partnership with more 

than one general partner is not eligible 

for this set-aside.] 

2. Underserved counties and colonias 

set-aside. Five percent of any 

appropriation act funding for the 

Section 515 program will be set aside 

for the 100 most needy underserved 

counties or colonias as defined in 

section 509(f) of the Housing Act of 

1949. 

II. Funding Limits

A. Individual loan requests may not 

exceed $1 million. This applies to 

regular section 515 funds and set-aside 

funds. The Administrator may make an 

exception to this limit in cases where a 

State’s average total development costs 

exceed the National average by 50 

percent or more. 

B. States may receive a maximum 

combined total of $2.5 million from 

regular section 515 funds and set-aside 

funds. 

III. Rental Assistance (RA) 

RA will be held in the National Office 

for use with section 515 Rural Rental 

Housing loans. RA may be requested by 

applicants, except for non-RA requests 

in accordance with Section I.D of this 

notice. 

IV. Application Process 

All applications for section 515 new 

construction funds must be filed with 

the appropriate Rural Development 

State Office and must meet the 

requirements of 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart E and Section V of this Notice. 

Incomplete applications will not be 

reviewed and will be returned to the 

applicant. No application will be 

accepted after 5 p.m., local time, on the 

application deadline previously 

mentioned unless that date and time is 

extended by a Notice published in the 

Federal Register. 

V. Application Submission 

Requirements 

A. Each application shall include all 

of the information, materials, forms and 

exhibits required by 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart E as well as comply with the 

provisions of this Notice. Applicants are 

encouraged, but not required, to include 

a checklist and to have their 

applications indexed and tabbed to 

facilitate the review process. The Rural 

Development State Office will base its 

determination of completeness of the 

application and the eligibility of each 

5824 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 25 / Friday, February 6, 2004 / Notices 

applicant on the information provided 

in the application. 

B. Applicants are advised to contact 

the Rural Development State Office 

serving the place in which they desire 

to submit an application for the 

following: 

1. Application information; and 

2. List of designated places for which 

applications for new section 515 

facilities may be submitted. 

VI. Areas of Special Emphasis or 

Consideration 

The selection criteria contained in 7 

CFR part 1944, subpart E include two 

optional criteria, one set by the National 

Office and one by the State Office. This 

fiscal year, the National Office initiative 

will be used in the selection criteria as 

follows: In states where RHS has an ongoing formal working relationship, 

agreement, or Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) with the State to 

provide State resources (State funds, 

State RA, HOME funds, CDBG funds, or 

Low Income Housing Tax Credits 

(LIHTC)) for RHS proposals; or where 

the State provides preference or points 

to RHS proposals in awarding these 

State Resources, 20 points will be 

provided to loan requests that include 

such State resources in an amount equal 

to at least 5 percent of the total 

development cost. Native American 

Housing and Self Determination Act 

(NAHASDA) funds may be considered a 

State Resource if the Tribal Plan for 

NAHASDA funds contains provisions 

for partnering with RHS for multifamily 

housing. No State selection criteria will 

be used this fiscal year.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Arthur A. Garcia, 

Administrator, Rural Housing Service.

[FR Doc. 04–2594 Filed 2–5–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service 

Notice of Timeframe for Section 533 

Housing Preservation Grants for Fiscal 

Year 2004

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service 

(RHS) announces that it is soliciting 

competitive applications under its 

Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) 

program. RHS is publishing this Notice 

prior to passage of a final appropriations 

act to give applicants the maximum 

amount of time possible to complete 

their applications, and to provide the 

Agency sufficient time to select and 

process the selected applications within 

the current fiscal year. Although a 

Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) 

outlining the level of funding for the 

program will be published after 

enactment of a final appropriation act, 

no additional time for submitting 

applications will be included in the 

NOFA. Applications must be submitted 

within the timeframe set forth in this 

Notice. Because the Agency’s 

appropriations act has not been passed, 

applicants are cautioned that the 

Agency cannot make commitments 

based on the anticipated funding. 

Expenses incurred in developing 

applications will be at the applicant’s 

risk. 

The HPG program is a grant program 

which provides qualified public 

agencies, private nonprofit 

organizations, and other eligible entities 

grant funds to assist very low- and lowincome homeowners to repair and 

rehabilitate their homes in rural areas, 

and to assist rental property owners and 

cooperative housing complexes to repair 

and rehabilitate their units if they agree 

to make such units available to low- and 

very low-income persons. This action is 

taken to comply with Agency 

regulations found in 7 CFR part 1944, 

subpart N, which require the Agency to 

announce the opening and closing dates 

for receipt of preapplications for HPG 

funds from eligible applicants. The 

intended effect of this Notice is to 

provide eligible organizations notice of 

these dates. 

Discussion of Anticipated Funding for 

Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 

The FY 2003 funding level for the 

section 533 program was $9,935,000. To 

the extent an appropriation act provides 

funding for HPG grants in FY 2004, the 

actual funds available for FY 2004 will 

be published at a later date in a 

subsequent Notice.

DATES: The closing deadline for receipt 

of all applications in response to this 

Notice is 5 p.m., local time for each 

Rural Development State Office on May 

6, 2004. The application closing 

deadline is firm as to date and hour. 

RHS will not consider any application 

that is received after the closing 

deadline. Applicants intending to mail 

applications must provide sufficient 

time to permit delivery on or before the 

closing deadline date and time. 

Acceptance by the United States Postal 

Service or private mailer does not 

constitute delivery. Facsimile (FAX) and 

postage due applications will not be 

accepted.

ADDRESSES: Applicants wishing to apply 

for assistance must contact the Rural 

Development State Office serving the 

place in which they desire to submit an 

application to receive further 

information and copies of the 

application package. Rural Development 

will date and time stamp incoming 

applications to evidence timely receipt, 

and, upon request, will provide the 

applicant with a written 

acknowledgment of receipt. A listing of 

Rural Development State Offices, their 

addresses, telephone numbers, and 

person to contact follows:

Note: Telephone numbers listed are not 

toll-free.

Alabama State Office 

Suite 601, Sterling Centre, 4121 

Carmichael Road, Montgomery, AL 

36106–3683, (334) 279–3400, TDD (334) 

279–3495, James B. Harris. 

Alaska State Office 

800 West Evergreen, Suite 201, Palmer, AK 

99645, (907) 761–7740, TDD (907) 761–

8905, Deborah Davis. 

Arizona State Office 

Phoenix Corporate Center, 3003 N. Central 

Ave., Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012–

2906, (602) 280–8765, TDD (602) 280–

8706, Johnna Vargas.

Arkansas State Office 

700 W. Capitol Ave., Rm. 3416, Little Rock, 

AR 72201–3225, (501) 301–3258, TDD 

(501) 301–3063, Clinton King. 

California State Office 

430 G Street, #4169, Davis, CA 95616–

4169, (530) 792–5830, TDD (530) 792–

5848, Jeff Deiss. 

Colorado State Office 

655 Parfet Street, Room E100, Lakewood, 

CO 80215, (720) 544–2923, TDD (800) 

659–2656, Mary Summerfield. 

Connecticut 

Served by Massachusetts State Office. 

Delaware and Maryland State Office 

4607 South Dupont Highway, PO Box 400, 

Camden, DE 19934–9998, (302) 697–

4353, TDD (302) 697–4303, Pat Baker. 

Florida & Virgin Islands State Office 

4440 NW. 25th Place, Gainesville, FL 

32606–6563 (352) 338–3465, TDD (352) 

338–3499, Joseph P. Fritz. 

Georgia State Office 

Stephens Federal Building, 355 E. Hancock 

Avenue, Athens, GA 30601–2768, (706) 

546–2164, TDD (706) 546–2034, Wayne 

Rogers. 

Guam 

Served by Hawaii State Office. 

Hawaii State Office 

(Services all Hawaii, American Samoa and 

Western Pacific), Room 311, Federal 

Building, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, 

HI 96720, (808) 933–8309, TDD (808) 

933–8321, Thao Khamoui. 

Idaho State Office 

Suite A1, 9173 West Barnes Dr., Boise, ID 

83709, (208) 378–5628, TDD (208) 378–

5644, LaDonn McElligott. 

Illinois State Office 

2118 West Park Court, Suite A, Champaign, 

IL 61821–2986, (217) 403–6222, TDD 

(217) 403–6240, Barry L. Ramsey.