BY JOHN BRICE
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — The city of LaFayette held a public hearing in the new city hall last Thursday to discuss its application for a CDBG grant to make extensive improvements to the city’s water system. City Clerk Louis Davidson gave a presentation explaining the grant process and how it would impact the system.
“This is a public hearing covering the city of LaFayette’s application for the Community Development Block Grant program,” Davidson said. “Most people know it as CDBG. It is administered by ADECA which is the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The city of LaFayette, previously we were in the large city fund program but because we dropped below 3,000 people now we are in the small city fund program. The maximum amount of the grant is 400,000 even.”
Davidson described the main goals of the project if the funding is granted.
“The proposed project that we are looking at is to try to replace water lines going along Alabama Avenue East and First Avenue Southeast,” he said. “That is going to be over near the front side of the high school and then also going down First Street / MLK. The purpose of this grant application is to improve water quality, efficiency and lower the maintenance costs for the city of LaFayette as it runs its water system. If we are awarded this grant we are committed to put in $40,000 as a local match.”
Davidson provided background information on CDBG grants.
“To go into the CDBG program, it is funded by HUD, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development,” Davidson said. “The state of Alabama has administered the program since 1982. What we are applying for, the program that we are applying for, we are categorized as a non-entitlement community.
“So with regards to CDBG you have two categories, you have a non-entitlement community and an entitlement community. The difference in an entitlement community, say like Auburn or Opelika, they are cities that are normally bigger.”
Davidson discussed the different aspects of the two types of communities.
“What the program does is it gives that city or that entity a certain amount of money for the year,” Davidson said. “Then that city chooses to do whatever they want with it. You can have a water project or you can do something with blight and housing or recreation. Those are entitlement communities because they are entitled to a certain amount of money per year. Non-entitlement communities [are] like the city of LaFayette, the city of Valley, the city of Lanett. We actually have to apply for the CDBG funding. So we are not entitled to it. We apply, it is competitive. You may get it, you may not get it.”
