The Lake View City Council continues to make progress on their ongoing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Housing Rehabilitation projects. According to Administrator, Scott Peterson, they are moving into the effort’s next phase and held a public hearing on the specifications of the next round of improvements. Last year, Lake View was awarded $169,000 for use on owner-occupied residences, and Peterson says that funding has provided an exceptional opportunity to boost the community’s aging housing stock.
City leaders had originally planned to use the funds on four properties, but they are hoping to incorporate a fifth after those other efforts came in under budget. While Lake View’s grant this cycle is already spoken for, he says residents should be ready to apply the next time the community is selected. He explains how the projects were chosen.
Generally, the grants are focused on specific neighborhoods or areas of a community, and this is the case for Lake View. Peterson says it is hard not to notice the visual improvements in the targeted regions.
With the public hearing behind them, the city council will now look for bidders on the remaining homes. CDBG grants are awarded on an annual basis, but Lake View has historically applied for them only periodically. Based on the success of this most recent round, he expects they will be pursuing them more frequently in coming years.
