Posted: 3:40 p.m.Monday, Feb. 23, 2015

County to distribute $1.8M in federal funds toneedy areas

By Denise G. Callahan

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY — 

    Butler County plans todistribute $1.8 million in federal funds to help cities, townships and villageswith capital improvements and to help residents with housing.

    The county commissioners perused the listof $2.9 million worth of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME fundrequests on Monday, a list the Consolidated Planning Committee had alreadyshaved by about $1 million.

    The largest project on the list is $176,000for curb and gutter replacement in the Alamo Heightsarea of Hanover Twp. The city of Middletown —which is large enough to qualify on its own for Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment funding, but partners with the county — had the largest housingrequest at $200,000 for down payment assistance.

    A few items on the list gave the threecommissioners pause, namely a new water tower in the village of New Miamithat hasn’t been deployed because it needs a water pressure valve. CommissionerDon Dixon said he doesn’t understand how the village could ask for $129,000 tofix alleys, when they have a water tower that needs attention.

    “They’ve got a brand new tank that’s beensitting there for years, that they can’t use because they can’t come up with a$400 valve. And I’m going to give them money to do alleys? I don’t think so,”he said. “I don’t get it.”

    Dixonsuggested they use the money to help the village come up with a plan to addresstheir water system, including getting the valve installed.

    Acting New Miami Mayor Bob Henley said thevillage’s public affairs board, which controls utilities, has been dragging itsfeet on the water tower valve, that was built four or five years ago, but hedoesn’t know why. He said the village controls the independent board’s pursestrings but not the board itself.

    “It supposedly was funded a couple timesand hasn’t been done yet,” Henley said. “We’vebeen on the water department for a number of years to get that done. Havingthat water tower there and not operational, it kind of ticks us off a littlebit.”

    Commissioner Cindy Carpenter also had anissue with Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS). Not that their proposed $18,000allotment is too high, but rather that they are too strict in their downpayment assistance approval guidelines. She said she sent several people thereand they were turned down. She asked if the rules could be relaxed.

    Desmond Maaytah, communitydevelopment manager for the county, has checked on Carpenter’s request but saidthey are already as lenient as HUD allows. He was told the issue is that peoplearen’t qualifying for mortgages and if you can’t get a mortgage you don’t needa down payment.

    “Before 2008 pretty much anybody that had aheartbeat could get some type of mortgage,” he said. “But it’s kind of built innow really, the banks are a lot stricter with your debt ratios and that type ofthing.”

    NHS received about $230,000 to $250,000 infederal down payment assistance last year and there is still $100,000 unused,hence the $18,000 allotment rather than the $150,000 they were seeking.

    The federal funds, once approved by thecommissioners, will also finance some street resurfacing, home repairassistance, demolition and two Habitat for Humanity homes, among other projectsand assistance. The funds must be spent tobetter low-to-moderate income areas.