Code of Maine Rules › 19 - DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › 498 - OFFICE OF TOURISM AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT › Chapter 45 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM: 2017 FINAL STATEMENT › Section 498-45-2 - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
HOUSING ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM
The Housing Assistance Grant (HA) Program provides funding to
				  address housing problems of low-and moderate-income persons. Housing Assistance
				  Program (HA) funds will be distributed through an annual grant application
				  selection process.
1.
Eligibility Requirements for Housing Assistance Applications:
Communities may not submit a HA single family rehabilitation application
				if they have received or benefited from two HA awards within the five (5) year
				period prior to the CDBG program year for which applications are being
				accepted. Multi-jurisdictional applications with more than 3 communities will
				not be accepted.
2.
Eligible
				Activities:
Eligible HA activities are rehabilitation of occupied or
				vacant single-family or multi-family housing units, same site replacement
				housing, relocation assistance, acquisition, alternative housing, energy
				conservation, correction of code violations, conversion of non-residential
				structures, demolition, down payment assistance, first time homebuyer's
				programs, lead based paint removal, new housing construction as allowed by HUD
				regulations, provision of potable water or sewer, removal of architectural
				barriers and eligible planning activities necessary to complete the Project
				Development Phase.
3.
Exclusions:
See Section 1H (6) (7).
4.
Matching Funds:
Applicants
				for housing activities must provide a match (cash or in-kind) of at least 10 %
				of the total HA grant award; except for eligible new housing construction
				activities which must provide a cash match of at least 20% of the total HA
				grant award.
5.
Maximum HA
				Grant Amount:
$1,000,000
6.
Maximum Administrative Costs:
The HA Program allow sex penditures
				for general and/or rehabilitation administration. The total general and
				rehabilitation administration expenditures may notexceed 15% of the grant
				amount.
Please refer to OCD Policy Statement #2 for more information
				regarding CDBG administrative costs.
7.
Section 8 Housing Quality
				Standards:
All units assisted or created with HA funds must, if possible,
				meet HUD Section 8 Minimum Housing Quality Standards. This does not apply to
				projects undertaken to correct specific emergency health and safety issues
				only, i.e. wells, septic, heating units, removal of hazardous materials, energy
				conservation etc.
8.
Administrative Capabilities for Housing Rehabilitation Applicants:
Applicants for HA assistance must demonstrate at the time of submitting
				the Letter of Intent that they have the capacity to administer the program
				either through municipal staff that is a qualified CDBG Rehabilitation
				Technician; or have completed a procurement process under the guidelines of the
				CDBG program (24 CFR Part 85) to hire a qualified CDBG Rehabilitation
				Technician subject to award of a HA contract.
9.
Selection Process:
The
				selection process for all HA applications will consist of two stages:
(a)Stage 1:
Letter of
				  Intent
:
All communities wishing to submit a HA
				  application must submit a Letter of Intent. After review for completeness and
				  eligibility, units of general local governments may be invited to make a full
				  application. Please refer to Page 5 of this document for Program deadlines and
				  due dates.
(b)Stage 2:
Application
:
The
				  maximum length of an application is
four pages (not counting required
				  attachments)
. Please refer to Page 5 of this document for Program
				  deadlines and due dates. Members of the Review Team will assign a Review Point
				  Total for each application reviewed. Review Point Totals will consist of the
				  sum of the three scoring areas below and be determined by the total of each
				  sub-scoring area. A maximum of 100 points is obtainable.
Impact
(40 points):
A description of the specific housing problems to be
					 addressed with HA funds - 15 points
												 How the problems were identified - 10
					 points
												 How these issues affect LMI persons in the community
					 or region - 15 points
Development Strategy
(40
				  points):
A description of the plan proposed to implement the
					 housing project - 20 points
												 Summary of the activities and use of HA funds -20
					 points
Citizen Participation
(20
				  points):
How overall citizen participation process directly
					 relates to identification of solution strategies and application development -
					 4 points
												 Effective use of any media (newspapers, radio, TV,
					 etc.) to further public awareness and participation - 4 points
												 Relevance of listed meeting/hearing
					 activities/comments (not counting required public hearing) on application and
					 project development - 4 points
												 Involvement of potential LMI project beneficiaries in
					 development of the application and project and how the required public hearing
					 relates to the application development and citizen participation process - 4
					 points
												 How other local resources (cash and in-kind) are
					 directly related to the project and the establishment of a cash value
					 equivalent for all in-kind commitments - 4 points
11.
Final Application Score
-
				Each application will receive a Final Application Score consisting of the
				average of the scores assigned by members of the Review Team. Starting at the
				top of the scoring list, applicants will be invited to proceed to the Project
				Development Phase as funds allow.