Members of Harrisburg City Council listen as a resident speaks at tonight’s meeting.
The annual process of disbursing federal housing funds began tonight, as Harrisburg City Council introduced an ordinance that would provide money to nearly a dozen nonprofit groups.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that the city used the same process in selecting award recipients as last year, using a point-based merit system to judge applications.
“It’s a number of small grants,” Papenfuse said. “It’s not as much as anyone wanted.”
In all, the city will distribute $2.04 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money, a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. This amount includes almost $1.9 million from the 2018 allocation, plus a small supplemental amount tied to unallocated funds from a prior year.
Like last year, the greatest single amount of money, $593,423, will go to repay federal loans the city backed during the Reed administration for several development projects, including the disastrous Capitol View Commerce Center project, which went bankrupt before being completed years later by a new owner.
“If we didn’t have an exorbitant debt service, we’d have a lot more money for housing,” Papenfuse said.
Most of the nonprofits proposed to receive funds have gotten some money from previous CDBG allocations. The proposed recipients include:
- TriCounty HDC: $250,000
- Habitat for Humanity: $100,000
- A Miracle 4 Sure: $50,000
- TLC Work Based Training: $45,000
- Christian Recovery Aftercare Ministries (C.R.A.M.): $40,000
- Latino Hispanic Community Center: $25,000
- Heinz-Menaker Senior Center: $25,000
- Fair Housing Council: $25,000
- PPL/IN HOUSE: $20,000
- Shades of Greatness: $15,000
- Neighborhood Dispute Settlement: $5,000
Like last year, Tina Nixon, an executive with UPMC Pinnacle, scored the applications, Papenfuse said. While most nonprofits that applied received some funding, several did not make the cut, he said.
In addition, the city is proposing to allocate $321,642 for its housing rehabilitation programs and another $408,765 to CDBG administration.
At tonight’s meeting, Les Ford, executive director of Heinz-Menaker, addressed council to emphasize the importance of the Midtown Harrisburg facility.
“The Heinz-Menaker Senior Center is the most active senior center in Dauphin County, bar none,” he said. “We’re just lucky enough to have that in the city of Harrisburg.”
Last year, the administration did not recommend that Heinz-Menaker receive CDBG funds, saying its application did not make the cut. In the end, council reversed that decision and approved $25,000 for the center.
Council is slated to discuss CDBG funding at its next work session, scheduled for June 5. In recent years, it has made some adjustments to the administration’s proposal.
