Little Rock, Ark. (March 21, 2022) - The Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) has awarded $4,753,478 million in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) to 30 Arkansas cities and counties.
The grants were awarded under the General Assistance set-aside, part of Arkansas’ $18.86 million 2021 formula grant allocation, which is designed to provide communities the opportunity to apply for a variety of non-housing public facility and public infrastructure projects. These funds originate from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) State Program for Small Cities.
An additional $2,424,095 was awarded to nine cities and counties throughout the state from the CDBG-CV set-aside, a $26.4 million supplemental program to assist in local government-level recovery, prevention, and preparation efforts relating to the coronavirus. The CDBG-CV funding was allocated to the State by HUD as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The 21 General Assistance projects include:
Arkansas City, Desha County, Arkansas City Waste Treatment Pond Improvements, $300,000
Ash Flat, Sharp County, Ash Flat Street Overlay Project, $244,317
Ashdown, Little River County, Ashdown Drainage Project, $299,530
Bald Knob, White County, Bald Knob Manhole Project, $299,879
Booneville , Logan County, Booneville Sidewalk Project, $200,000
Etowah, Mississippi County, Etowah Wastewater Treatment Plant Project, $300,000
Evening Shade, Sharp County, Evening Shade Water Line Project, $237,508
Gentry, Benton County, Gentry Stormwater Drainage Project, $192,150
Hackett, Sebastian County, Hackett Sidewalk Project, $125,600
Hatfield, Polk County, Hatfield Street Project, $148,075
McGehee, Desha County, McGehee Water/Wastewater System Rehab, $299,954
Murfreesboro, Pike County, Murfreesboro Drainage Improvement Project, $300,000
Norman, Montgomery County, Norman Wastewater Improvement Project, $299,921
Patterson, Woodruff County, Patterson Water Treatment Plant Upgrade, $270,275
Stephens, Ouachita County, Stephens Water Meter Project, $181,043
Tollette, Howard County, Tollette Wastewater Project, $299,996
Van Buren County, Van Buren County Street Project, $300,000
Waldron, Scott County, Waldron Sidewalk Project, $172,008
Wilmot, Ashley County, Wilmot Water/Wastewater Improvement Project, $299,954
Wilton, Little River County, Wilton Water/Wastewater Improvement Project, $283,268
The nine CDBG-CV projects include:
Blytheville, Mississippi County, Blytheville Homeless Shelter Project, $275,000
Camden, Ouachita County, Camden Community Center Project, $299,057
Crossett, Ashley County, Crossett Youth Center Project, $300,000
Garland County, Mid America Museum HVAC Project, $281,700
Jackson County, Jackson County Homeless Shelter Project, $156,825
Paragould. Greene County, Paragould Homeless Shelter Project, $281,500
Paris, Logan, Paris Food Pantry Project, $300,000
Pope County, MARVA Workshop Project, $300,000
Sebastian County, Sebastian County Senior Centers Project, $230,013
To be eligible for CDBG funds through both of these programs, communities must have a population of less than 50,000 and at least 51 percent of the persons benefitting from the project must be of low- to moderate-income, or the project must meet another CDBG national objective, prevention of slum or blight, or meet an urgent need. CDBG-CV projects must have a direct tie-back to COVID-19, and meet an unmet need toward the recovery, prevention, and preparation efforts relating to the coronavirus. All Arkansas cities and counties are eligible for the grant program with the exception of 13 entitlement cities that receive CDBG funds directly from HUD.
For more information on the Arkansas Small Cities CDBG or CDBG-CV program, contact the Grants Management Division at (501) 682-7682 or visit https://www.arkansasedc.com/grants. The Grants Division encourages local governing officials that have ongoing or future unmet COVID-19 needs to contact them for funding opportunities through the CDBG-CV program.