The City of Pocatello Neighborhood & Community Services Division is putting together its five-year plan for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and needs your help.
Recently, the division started taking resident input via its “Pocatello Community Survey.” The questionnaire asks citizens to identify what they think are the most pressing needs for low-to-moderate-income residents related to housing, public services, and infrastructure. City staff develops the CDBG five-year consolidated plan to determine how to invest the annual federal grant funds using the feedback from citizens in combination with national, state, and local data.
“We want to hear from those who will be directly impacted by this annual grant funding and develop a plan that reflects their highest priority needs,” said Christine Howe, CDBG Program Coordinator. “We encourage residents to complete the survey and let us know how to invest these funds in the services, facilities, and neighborhoods they access every day.”
To complete the survey, visit surveymonkey.com/r/VXF53NG. The questionnaire takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Responses will be accepted until Sunday, September 5 at 10 p.m.
2021 marks the 25th year for the City of Pocatello as an Entitlement Community with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since then, the City has received over $12.5 million from the federal government to fund housing and community development programs as well as special projects for low-to-moderate-income residents. Projects that the program has helped to fund include the new shelter for Aid for Friends, roofs for the Bannock Youth Foundation and New Day Products, rent and mortgage assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency home repairs for low-to-moderate-income homeowners, purchase of vacant or blighted lots for single-family home construction by partnering agencies, and more.
“CDBG funding helps our local non-profits focus on serving their clients rather than diverting their resources to other expenses like building repairs,” said Lisa Smith, CDBG Grant Administrator. “For individuals, the funding allows homeowners who are on a limited or fixed budget to make necessary home repairs without having to sacrifice other necessities such as food or medical care.”
For more information on the CDBG program in Pocatello, visit pocatello.us/339/Community-Development-Block-Grant.