Columbia groups seek more federal funding than available

Erica Dickson said her first time through the city’s Community Development Commission was a daunting one.

“This was an intense process,” Dickson, the head of the day care King’s Kids said. “In your heart, when you know what you’re doing, you know there’s a need, that kind of overshadows all of that, and you just kind of keep that focus.”

Dickson went into Wednesday night’s commission meeting with no recommended funding through the Community Development Block Grant program. The city receives federal dollars through Housing and Urban Development to fund projects targeting housing, community needs and economic development. Dickson asked for $87,619 to build a new bathroom at the day care, acquire new land and expand the business for more families.

The city’s Community Development department estimated $924,000 in CDBG funding for 2019 and $550,000 in federal HOME funds. While there were less requests for HOME funds than money available, community groups in total asked for $1,387,819 in CDBG projects.

HUD had suggested cutting the program in 2017, but the city reported having more money through it the last two years. Steve Smith, head of Job Point, said the program helps him fund scholarships for students to receive vocational training in nursing or construction.

“The trend’s good,” Smith told ABC 17 News about the current funding level. “We can’t rely on that, it’s year to year, and we won’t truly know until the time comes.”

Commission members said they liked the King’s Kids project, a newcomer to their process. The group agreed to award it $30,000 for its bathroom expansion. The expansion will let Dickson take in more children to the day care.

“Maybe some organizations that hadn’t done it before, I’d encourage them to come and apply and go through it themselves,” Dickson said.

The Columbia City Council ultimately decides on the funding plan.

Here are the commission’s recommendations for CDBG funding:

$115,000 for home modification and accessibility to Services for Independent Living $30,000 for the City of Columbia’s NRT Code Enforcement $225,000 for the city’s CDBG Rehab $50,000 for the city’s demolition and acquisition program $150,000 for the city’s McKee Street sidewalk project $98,000 for Job Point’s vocational training scholarships $27,000 for Columbia Housing Authority’s Blind Boone playground $19,000 for the Food Bank’s energy efficiency project at the Central Pantry $30,000 for bathroom construction at King’s Kids day care $14,000 to set aside for fair housing education $166,000 for Community Development department administration