Clovis To Review Use of 2020-21 CDBG Funding May 11

(File Photo)

The City of Clovis will review its 2020-21 Annual Action Plan for the use of more than $70,000 in Community Development Block Grants May 11.

As a CDBG Entitlement city, Clovis receives an annual allocation of CDBG funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city is about to enter the last year of its five-year action plan, which began in July 2016 and aimed to improve housing and infrastructure, support economic development projects and provide public service in the form of code enforcement, as well as senior and youth programs.

The five-year plan ends June 30, 2021.

In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the city of Clovis used the grants to serve 42 households, spending $84,931 in the process. According to city documents, Clovis is on track to meet the goals outlined in that year’s plan.

The HUD allocated $750,024 in CDBG funding to Clovis for 2020-21 year. That is in addition to the $122,731 that the city says it saved in CDBG funding last year.

The city’s current draft of the plan intends to allocate $125,000 to housing rehabilitation, $150,000, $430,000 to the reconstruction of Gettysburg Avenue and Norwich Alley, $70,247 to its microenterprise program, $112,503 to area-based policing and $135,005 to administration.

Leftover funding may be used on one of the city’s back up projects, which include the reconstruction of San Jose and Scott Alley and housing rehabilitation grants.

The city also plans to amend its 2019-20 plan to receive additional CDGB funding through the CARES Act. The amendment includes adding actions the city took to address the COVID-19 crisis, which consists of $200,000 that was spent on emergency housing payments and $241,214 to the Meals on Wheels program.

The hearing to review the action plan will take place at May 11 city council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. at the City of Clovis Council Chambers. Residents are invited to provide written or verbal comments to share their views on how the funding should be used.

Additional information can be found at cityofclovis.com.

Ron Camacho was born and raised in Clovis. He attended Clovis High School and graduated from CSU Fresno in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Journalism. Before joining the Roundup, Ron wrote for Pollstar Magazine and the Sanger Herald. He has a deep appreciation for the arts and is a lover of music, cinema and storytelling. When he’s not busy looking for his next story, Ron enjoys taking weekend expeditions to the beach or mountains to practice landscape photography.