Kane County is expected to disburse more than $1.1 million in federal funding this year as part of a Community Development Block Grant program.
The County Board’s Development Committee on Tuesday approved the Community Development Block Grant Commission’s recommendations to fund 19 projects designed to aid low- and moderate-income people throughout the county, ranging from housing rehabilitation to roof and gutter repairs to new toilets.
The full County Board is expected to consider the measure next month.
The money, controlled by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, can be used for qualifying community-enhancement programs.
The largest chunk of funds–$475,000–is to go to Geneva-based Community Contacts Inc. to rehab low-income housing in Carpentersville, Maple Park and Aurora Township. More than $225,000 is earmarked for the county’s Development Department for planning and administration of the program.
“There was a certain amount of spirited discussion that went on,” said County Board member Jan Carlson (R-Elburn), chairwoman of the 18-member commission, which completed its review of 44 applications for funds this month. The County Board-appointed panel consists of County Board members, municipal officials and private residents.
“We came up with a pretty equitable distribution of funds,” Carlson said. “I think it’s something we can be proud of.”
Last year was the first in which Kane was eligible to distribute such funds. In 1998, it handed out about $625,000 in affordable-housing funds–$100,000 more than the 1999 amount. This year, the money targeted for public facilities–$159,039–is nearly double last year’s total.
The funds for public facilities include a grant of $10,500 to Aurora’s Hesed House for building repairs and requests from South Elgin, Gilberts and Aurora to repair or replace park equipment.
In 1997, U.S. Census Bureau figures showed the county’s population outside Elgin and Aurora had topped the 200,000 minimum required to obtain as much as $2.5 million in block grant funds.
Aurora and Elgin already receive money as entitlement cities and cannot be included in the population count. Nor can border communities where most of the population resides in another county.
A handful of projects are eligible for funding from city and county sources.Those projects include Public Action to Deliver Shelter, or PADS, in Aurora and Elgin, and Aurora’s Hesed House.
Although they are within city limits, officials said, they also serve people under Kane’s jurisdiction and many programs are shared.
Elgin PADS is expected to receive about $19,000 for operating funds, and the Aurora branch is targeted for $8,996 for its summer program. Another shelter for the homeless, St. Charles’ Lazarus House, is expected to receive more than $30,000 for operating expenses.
The Village of Elburn successfully lobbied for $78,380 to build a pedestrian connection between a village park and a senior community, and Dundee Township is expected to get $62,500 to install sidewalks.
