Projects and activities aimed at addressing the needs of low-to-moderate-income people and communities in Richland County will be the focus of an upcoming virtual meeting.
The County’s Community Development Department will discuss its Annual Action Plan for the 2020-2021 fiscal year at 5 pm August 13. The virtual hearing will be open to the public via Zoom and will also stream live on the County’s YouTube channel.
A pair of funding sources from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) form the basis of the County’s plan:
• Community Development Block Grants include funding for Operation One Touch, which helps low- and moderate‐income residents with household repairs, as well as funding for Public Service Grants. CDBG funding is expected to total $1,628,500.
• HOME Investment Partnership funding includes support for Richland County’s Homeownership Assistance Program and Richland Rebuild, a program that involves tearing down unsafe housing and building new homes for residents. HOME Investment Partnership funding is expected to total $754,220.
• HUD must approve the final funding amounts, which are projected to run about the same as in the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The federal agency has not set a date for their approval.
Richland County residents, along with nonprofits and other community partners and stakeholders, are encouraged to give input before or during the virtual hearing on how the federal funding should be used.
For an invitation to the virtual hearing on Zoom, email Lauren Hunter at [email protected]. Comments may also be emailed to Hunter or mailed to Richland County Government, Community Development Department, 2020 Hampton St., Suite 3063, P.O. Box 192, Columbia, SC 29202, Attn: Lauren Hunter.
Residents can also access the meeting via the County’s YouTube page, YouTube.com/RichlandOnline/videos, but this option does not allow for live participation.
Public comments on the Annual Action Plan will be taken August 13-20. All comments received will be attached to the final version of the plan.
For more information, reach Hunter at 803-576-1335 or [email protected].
