St. Cloud Housing and Redevelopment Authority to Get $215,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds

(KNSI) — After three rounds, the St. Cloud City Council voted 4-2 Monday night to give the Housing and Redevelopment Authority $215,000 of the estimated $670,000 available for Community Development Block Grant funding.

Council President Mike Conway, who was in favor of the move, explained why they went in a different direction after the planning commission had recommended the money go to Habitat for Humanity. “For the HRA, these funds are really the only funds they get for the fix up fund. Habitat has a lot of extra resources. While this would be helpful. I think the greater impact would be by the HRA.”

The HRA will use the money for its home rehabilitation loan program.

He also gave the reasoning behind the multiple rounds of voting. “We tried to split the money in half, which is a great idea, but you get to a point where the law of diminishing returns, where sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze to be able to utilize those funds with the amount of work that has to be done behind it.”

Each time, the measures ended in a 3-3 tie.

He called this year’s vote one of the toughest the council has to make because of how many worthy causes are in need of support. There were 15 applications asking for more than $1.8 million. That’s more than three times what will be available.

Place of Hope received $169,000 to replace the HVAC and plumbing system at their facility, and $70,000 to help provide shelter in severe heat and cold emergencies. The remaining money will be split among smaller requests and the city for administrative costs.

The city uses the federal funds to help organizations that provide improved and increased housing and serve people experiencing homelessness.

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