2019-2020
The Application: Applied for a Community Block Grant on behalf of Dalton, Becket, Stockbridge, and Sheffield.
The Agreement: The four towns entered an agreement to divide the award: “In recognition of the responsibilities as lead town. Dalton will receive at least 30% of the housing rehabilitation grant. The remainder of the funds shall be divided equally between Sheffield, Stockbridge, and Becket.” Click here to read the agreement.
The Award: Becket, Sheffield, Dalton, and Stockbridge received $1,298,304 for housing rehabilitation assistance for 20 units and an ADA evaluation.
2022 The Pause:
At some point, BRPC became involved and told recipients distribution of funds delayed due to COVID.
2023 Where is the money? Not in Stockbridge.
From Mark Mills: Hi Carole… I am glad you are looking into this, and you can quote anything I am sending. Affordable Housing Trust Chair Ranne Warner had heard that such a grant existed, and she assigned me, as a member of the Trust, to determine the status of the grant and to make a report at last week’s Trust meeting. I…heard back from Patricia Mullins, Community Development and Housing Program Manager at BRPC. She said the program has closed and all funds have been awarded. Stockbridge residents had submitted several applications of which only one met the income guidelines, and that household opted not to go ahead with the full application. So, no funds were awarded to Stockbridge. It appears that Dalton was the lead community for the grant and the regional planning commission administered the program.
What did Stockbridge lose out on? Through the https://www.mass.gov/info-details/community-development-block-grant-cdbg, small cities and towns receive funding for projects that help low- and moderate-income residents and more. This specific grant was to individuals for rehabilitation of residential structures — paint, roofs, windows, — plus money to the four towns for ADA Self-evaluation & Transition Plans for the four towns.
Exactly how was the $1,298,304 distributed? Who was the administrator — Dalton or BRPC? What was BRPC’s role? By what authority did BRPC withhold from Stockbridge and Sheffield money awarded to all four towns? Did BRPC exercise discretion they did not have? If there was no eligible applicant from Stockbridge, did BRPC keep Stockbridge informed and, in a timely fashion, ask them for additional applicants? SU reached out to Mullins and Tom Matuszko, Executive Director, BRPC, and asked. Here is their response.
Carole Owens
Executive Editor
Response from BRPC
Dear Dr. Owens:
I do not think we have met previously but I am responding to your query as the BRPC Community Development Program Manager.
The grant you are referring to is the FY20 Dalton CDBG grant, submitted by BRPC on behalf of the Town of Dalton in March of 2020, but not awarded until December 31 of that year due to administrative delays on the Commonwealth’s part caused by the pandemic. The total amount of funds awarded to the Town of Dalton was $1,298,304.00, and the Town of Dalton, as lead community, carries fiscal responsibility for the grant.
Of the total funds awarded, $920,000 was designated for the housing rehabilitation program activity and $98,560 was designated for other planning activities. These planning activities included ADA Self-evaluation & Transition Plans for Dalton, Becket and Stockbridge. The remainder of the funds were awarded for grant administration and program delivery of those 2 activities.
With regard to the funding for ADA Self-evaluations, after the FY20 CDBG application was submitted in March of 2020, and before awards were made in December of 2020, the Town of Stockbridge successfully applied for and received an alternate source of funding from the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) in order to undertake the same project. Since that funding was available first, the ADA Self-evaluation & Transition Plan was completed by Stockbridge using the MOD funds.
The CDBG housing rehabilitation program provides 0% interest, deferred payment, forgivable loans to low to moderate-income homeowners, in order that they may correct code violations, address lead paint hazards and conduct previously deferred routine maintenance on their homes. Typical projects include replacing roofs, siding, windows and doors, plumbing, electrical and septic systems. The FY20 Dalton grant had a goal of rehabbing up to 23 homes in Dalton, Becket, Stockbridge and Sheffield, with a program cap of $40,000 per home.
During the height of the pandemic, when this grant was being implemented, very few contractors were available to work in the program and supply chains were slow and unreliable. These factors combined to not only slow progress on the grant but also, as was the trend in most of the US home construction industry, to dramatically increase the cost of projects. The majority of CDBG projects received bids well in excess of the $40,000 cap, and in some cases more than double that. Projects over the $40,000 cap are allowed under some circumstances but require waivers to proceed.
Since the actual cost of most projects have far exceeded the $40,000, we now anticipate completing approximately 17-19 projects by December 31, 2023, when this grant is scheduled to close. Housing rehabilitation projects require significant advance planning with the homeowner, development of a set of specifications or work order and a formal bidding process. Therefor the average project takes several months to develop, bid and complete. Only projects that are currently under construction and/or in late development stages can reasonably be completed between now and when the grant closes.
When the FY20 Dalton CDBG housing rehabilitation program opened there was a ‘waiting list’ of approximately 158 households included in the original grant application, which had been collected by BRPC staff: 78 in Dalton, 44 in Becket, 27 in Sheffield and 9 in Stockbridge. Individuals on the waiting list were informed of the availability of the grant through press releases, BRPC and town websites and other forms of direct outreach. Program information and applications were available continuously in each of the town halls and through the BRPC offices.
The CDBG program does include many onerous requirements and for that reason and due to the volatile construction industry trends, we cannot guarantee a specific dollar amount to be spent in each partner community. The exact number of projects for each community can never be ascertained in advance, due to the unknown interest and response from income eligible households in each community. That limitation was expressed to each of the partner communities and their respective Select Boards during the preparation of the grant. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and goals outlined in the grant and interlocal agreement, there were no feasible projects to emerge in Stockbridge. We can only provide projects where we have applicants who are income eligible and who are willing to allow the required lead testing, project development and bidding process to proceed according to CDBG rules.
BRPC has administered a number of regional grants, and in doing so makes every effort to provide projects in all partner communities. In this case the very limited interest in Stockbridge resulted in only 4 applications to the program, of which 2 were found to be over income according to HUD guidelines, 1 was income eligible but decided not to pursue the program, as well as one application received late last week with income and project eligibility currently under review. The status of the grant was reported and discussed with the Town of Stockbridge on a number of occasions, but unfortunately our combined efforts did not result in additional Stockbridge applications.
BRPC is a strong advocate for CDBG housing rehabilitation throughout all Berkshire County. We believe that income eligible households should have the opportunity to access these funds no matter what community they reside in. In the case of the FY20 Dalton grant, the responsibility to fairly and effectively utilize all of the available funds awarded to the Town of Dalton and provide housing rehabilitation services to those households in most need, must be the primary goal of the grant.
I hope this provides answers to your questions.
Thanks,
Pat
Editor’s note: SU did inform BRPC we have a 400- word limit for articles and letters, however, Mullins responded “Hello Dr. Owens: Please print the BRPC response in its entirety. Thank you! Patricia Mullins”
SU did as Mullins asked because we believe BRPC had a right to a response and the 922-word response was all they provided.
Even in 922 words, questions remain unanswered. How exactly was the money distributed? Who administered this grant and who was paid the administration fee? If Dalton, what was BRPC’s role? Why was the Interlocal agreement ignored? Why would receipt of one grant by Stockbridge preclude accepting another?
What’s next for Stockbridge? Something fell through the cracks and that something was hundreds of thousands of dollars for Stockbridge. Perhaps Stockbridge should create its own Community Development Block Grant Program and use a portion of the funds collected in the AHT or designate funds to help householders in our Town budget? When pursuing federal funds, perhaps Stockbridge should apply directly or as Lee is doing, hire a grantsperson?
