News Release: Colorado Recieves HUD Approval on Tourism Funds

                                       

                                                                                                       

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Office of Gov. John Hickenlooper

Tom Schilling, 303-888-6734 c, tom.schilling@state.co.us

Kathy Green, 303-550-9276 c, kathy.green@state.co.us

Linda Rice, 303-358-6035 c, linda.rice@state.co.us

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Colorado receives HUD approval on tourism funds

DENVER — Tuesday, June 3, 2014 — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it approved the State’s waiver request to implement a tourism and marketing grant program through the Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)  program. The tourism and marketing program is included in the State’s recently approved CDBG-DR Action Plan and will provide funds to communities whose tourism industry was significantly  impacted by the flooding last September.

The Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Action Plan submitted by the State and approved by HUD in April outlines how Colorado will distribute $62.8 million in grant dollars received from HUD for flood recovery programs. Colorado’s tourism industry was severely impacted by the floods last fall. Through feedback from local business communities, the public and the Colorado Tourism Office, a request was made for a waiver to use some of the CDBG-DR funds to market tourism in heavily impacted areas of the state.

“We are happy that HUD approved the tourism and marketing waiver that was included in our action plan. These dollars will be used by the communities that were hit so hard during the flooding,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said. “All over the country and across Colorado, people saw the devastation on the news last fall. With these tourism and marketing funds, local communities will be able to let tourists know they are open for business.”

The State of Colorado has set aside $500,000 of the CDBG-DR funds to support marketing to re-establish tourism in the most impacted areas. Applications for the funds through this waiver are available online at http://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/ and are due June 24.  Applicants must demonstrate significant impacts due to the floods and a heavy reliance of the local economy on the tourism industry. The state will work with all applicants to release the money as soon as possible. The waiver will expire after two years.

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During a visit in December, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the overall $62.8 million funding award and that it would go toward a broad set of needs not addressed through other sources of public and private assistance such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration. This grant will support recovery efforts in 18 Presidentially declared flood-impacted counties, with a majority of the funds going to the most impacted counties: Boulder, Larimer and Weld. Programs will focus on housing, public infrastructure, long-term planning and economic development which now includes this tourism and marketing waiver.

The approved CDBG-DR Action Plan is available on the Department of Local Affairs website at http://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/

In addition, Secretary Donovan also announced today that HUD has finalized $199.3 million in CDBG-DR funds announced in March to help Colorado recover from major declared disasters dating back to 2011.  In compliance with federal guidelines, a separate Action Plan will be prepared to address this second allocation and will include a public comment period.

Colorado receives HUD approval on state plan to spend $62.8 million on flood recovery

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced it approved Colorado’s Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Action Plan. The Plan outlines how Colorado will distribute $62.8 million in grant dollars received from HUD for flood recovery programs.

During a visit in December, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced the funding award and that it would go toward needs not addressed through other sources of public and private assistance such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration. With acceptance of this disaster action plan, the long-term and sustainable disaster recovery can continue.  

This grant will support recovery efforts in 18 Presidentially declared flood-impacted counties, with a majority of the funds going to the most impacted counties: Boulder, Larimer and Weld. Programs will focus on housing, public infrastructure, long-term planning and economic development and, as stipulated by the grant, 50 percent of the funds will be distributed to low- and moderate-income households.

“We are very pleased with this approval of our action plan for the $62.8 million in CDBG-DR funding. We greatly appreciate the efforts of HUD in working with our team to get to this as quickly as possible,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said. “This grant will support long-term and sustainable disaster recovery efforts in the most impacted communities devastated by last year’s floods. The plan was developed with feedback from those impacted communities and will give Coloradans another resource to rebuild better and stronger.”

“From the moment the Presidential disaster declaration was made, HUD has been on the job, working with Congress to speed these much-needed funds to the State of Colorado,” HUD Rocky Mountain Regional Administrator Rick M. Garcia said. “This funding is vital to helping Coloradans rebuild their communities and HUD has been proud to partner with the State of Colorado and FEMA in this process.”

Applications for the funds will be available Friday, May 2, online at http://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/. The State will work with all applicants to release the money as soon as possible.

With the approval of the state’s Action Plan, communities will be able to submit applications through the following programs:

Program	Eligible applicants	Amount available
Household Assistance Programs
Temporary Rental Assistance and Relocation	Local governments, non-profits and housing authorities with experience in administering affordable housing programs	Local governments may receive up to $1 million with the ability to award up to $20,000 per household.
Housing Purchase (Down Payment Assistance)	Local governments, non-profits and housing authorities with experience in administering affordable housing programs	Local governments may receive up to $500,000 with the ability to award up to $50,000 per household.
Housing Repairs (Single Family Rehabilitation)	Local governments, non-profits and housing authorities with experience in administering affordable housing programs	Local governments may receive up to $4 million with the ability to award up to $50,000 per household.
Clearance and Demolition	Local governments or their designated non-profits or housing authorities	Local governments may receive up to $500,000 for the removal of slum and blight.
Housing New Construction Programs
Single Family Housing New Construction	Sub-grantees may include units of general local government, non-profit and for-profit developers, and housing authorities, with experience in affordable housing development/ programs, an existing network, and capacity	Projects may receive up to $4 million with the ability to award up to $50,000 per household.
Multifamily Rental Housing New Construction	Sub-grantees may include units of general local government, non-profit and for-profit developers, and housing authorities, with experience in affordable housing development/ programs, an existing network, and capacity	Projects may receive up to $4 million with the ability to award up to $50,000 per household.
Recover Colorado Business Grant and Loan Program	Small businesses, non-profits and units of government	$9 million is available for grants and loans to small businesses.  Up to $10,000 is available in grants for those with a single damaged location and up to $25,000 for multiple locations depending on the amount of their loss.  Additionally, loans are available up to an additional $50,000.
Agriculture Grant Program	Farmers, ranchers, and producers that are registered with the Secretary of State	$4.5 million is available for awards that range from a minimum $15,000 to maximum $150,000 per project.
Recover Colorado Infrastructure Grant Program	Local governments within the 18 counties included in the Presidential Disaster Declaration including municipalities, counties, special districts, school districts and other political subdivisions of the state.	$19.5 million has been allocated for this program with maximum project awards of $5 million.
Resiliency Visioning & Strategic Planning	Local governments	$1 million has been set aside with a maximum award of $100,000 for projects.

The approved CDBG-DR Action Plan is available on the Department of Local Affairs website at http://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/

In a separate announcement recently, Donovan announced Colorado will receive an additional $199 million in CDBG-DR funds. In compliance with federal guidelines, a separate Action Plan will be prepared to address this second allocation and will include a public comment period. The allocation of funds of $199 million have not yet been recorded in the Federal Register. Once the grant is recorded, the process for allocating the funds can begin.

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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available at www.hud.gov andhttp://espanol.hud.gov.  You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDgov, on facebook atwww.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s Email List.

HUD provides additional $199 million to help Colorado recover from 2013 storms and flooding

News Release from Governor's Office

 U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, joined Gov. John Hickenlooper and by U.S. Sens. Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, announced today Colorado will receive an additional $199.3 million to help communities recover from last September’s severe storms that produced devastating floods and mudslides.

The recovery funds are provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program to support long-term disaster recovery efforts in areas with the greatest extent of “unmet need,” primarily in Boulder, Weld and Larimer counties.

Last December, HUD awarded $62.8 million to assist recovery efforts in Colorado. Today’s award brings HUD’s combined CDBG-Disaster Recovery investment to $262.1 million.

“After visiting Lyons and Evans in December I promised HUD would do more to help the state recover,” Donovan said. “This additional money will fund a local vision to rebuild homes and businesses, repair badly damaged roads and bridges, and spur economic development. While we can never truly replace all that was lost, I remain committed to helping Colorado rebuild more resilient and better prepared for future storms.”

“This week marks six months since the flooding began,” Hickenlooper said. “From the beginning, HUD and our federal partners have been instrumental in investing in Colorado’s recovery. This second round of CDBG-DR funds is critical for families, businesses and economic development in the flood-impacted communities. We know we will never make whole those impacted by the floods, but these funds can help us build back sustainable, resilient communities for Colorado’s future.”

“Since the catastrophic flood half a year ago, I have been proud to lead efforts in Washington to help Colorado rebuild its devastated communities, protect our homes and businesses from future floods and mudslides, and secure federal aid for flood victims,” Udall said. “This second wave of recovery funds will supplement the emergency funds I have already helped secure for Colorado. But while these funds are an important milestone in our recovery efforts, I will keep fighting to ensure Coloradans have every resource we need to rebuild smarter and stronger.”

“These resources will help flood-ravaged communities in our state rebuild their homes and businesses, repair their roads and bridges, and invest in infrastructure to make Colorado more resilient the next time disaster strikes,” Bennet said. “We will continue to work together throughout the recovery process to build a stronger Colorado, and we are thankful for Secretary Donovan’s support.”

A minimum of 80 percent of the funds awarded today will be targeted in Boulder, Weld, and Larimer counties, where approximately 2,800 homes incurred major or severe damage. Although the majority of this funding is intended to address the remaining disaster recovery and resiliency needs from the September flooding, the state may target remaining funds to other especially hard-hit areas from other major disasters in 2011, 2012 and 2013. Those disasters include the 2012 High Park and Waldo Canyon wildfires, and the 2013 Royal Gorge and Black Forest wildfires.

The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, signed into law by President Barack Obama on Jan. 29, included $16 billion in CDBG-Disaster Recovery funding. The legislation specifies these funds are to be used “for necessary expenses related to disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, and economic revitalization in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from a major disaster.”

HUD’s CDBG-Disaster Recovery grants are intended to confront housing, business and infrastructure needs beyond those addressed by other forms of public and private assistance. Using a combination of data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), HUD identified particular counties in Colorado with the greatest extent of damage to housing, businesses and infrastructure.

HUD will shortly publish a Notice that will regulate the use of the funds announced today. The state of Colorado will then finalize disaster “action plans” describing how it intends to expend these funds to support disaster recovery and HUD will quickly review them.

Public hearings set for HUD Action Plan on flood recovery

Media Advisory from the Office of Gov. John Hickenlooper

Gov. John Hickenlooper today encouraged people in flood-impacted communities to attend public hearings this week to comment on the state’s Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program funding. The Action Plan outlines how the state proposes to allocate $62.8 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to flood-impacted communities.

“These dollars will not make people and communities going through flood recovery whole, but they are important in bolstering the state’s recovery efforts,” Hickenlooper said. “The money will help counties, municipalities, special districts, housing authorities and businesses, including the agricultural community, address important needs in the areas of housing, infrastructure and economic development.”

Colorado’s CDBG-DR Action Plan addresses grant and loan programs that will be available to communities in the areas of housing, infrastructure and economic development. Stakeholder meetings were held last month in Larimer, Weld and Boulder counties. Feedback from the stakeholders meetings were incorporated into a Draft Action Plan.

HUD requires the Draft Action Plan to be open to public comment for seven days. Public hearings are being held to enhance and encourage public participation during this comment period. The public is encouraged to review the plan and can provide public comment between Feb. 10 and 18, 2014.

The funds, announced during a November 2013 visit from national HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, will go toward needs not addressed through other sources of federal assistance, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Public comments will also be accepted through the CDBG-DR website, www.dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/public-commentsor and by email at dola_recovery@state.co.us.

Comments will be incorporated into a final draft that will be submitted to HUD for approval in April.

The schedule for the public hearings is as follows:

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014

4:30 - 6 p.m.
Location: Manitou Springs Memorial Hall, 606 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs, 80829

Wednesday, Feb. 12

Noon - 2 p.m.
Location: Estes Park Town Hall, Board Chambers, 170 MacGregor Ave., Estes Park, 80517

7 - 9 p.m.
Location: Boulder County Clerk & Recorder Office, Houston Room, 1750 33rd St.,
Boulder, 80301

Thursday, Feb. 13

6 - 9 p.m.
Location: Evans City Hall, Cottonwood Banquet Room, 1100 37th St., Evans, 80620

#COFlood: Community Development Block Grant Public Hearings Need Your Participation

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated $62.8M dollars in Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) to the State of Colorado to assist in a portion of flood disaster related costs. This grant is designed to assist with a small amount of those needs not being met through Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds or other federal funds. To secure these HUD funds, the state must submit an action plan to HUD detailing a proposed allocation of these funds based on community priority. These funds will only address a small portion of the unmet need in the following categories: Housing, Economic Development and Infrastructure.

The state hosted the first series of meetings January 21-24, 2014, with local, state and federal partners and staff, housing authorities, business owners and service agencies who are working on flood recovery on behalf of your community. Those meetings addressed the proposed distribution of Colorado’s $62.8 million.

On February 11 - 13, 2014, the Governor’s Recovery Office, the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, and the Colorado Department of Public Safety are hosting four public hearings to review and discuss the CDBG-DR process and the state’s draft Action Plan which will be available on Monday, February 10 at  https://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/content/action-plans.

The following are the dates and times of the upcoming hearings:

CDBG-DR Public Hearing Schedule

Tuesday, February 11
Manitou/Colorado Springs
4:30 - 6 p.m.
Manitou Springs Memorial Hall
606 Manitou Ave.
Manitou Springs, CO 80829

Wednesday, February 12
Estes Park
Noon - 2 p.m.
Estes Park Town Hall, Board Chambers
170 MacGregor Ave.
Estes Park, 80517

Wednesday, February 12
Boulder
7 - 9 p.m.
County Clerk & Recorder Office, Houston Room
1750 33rd Street
Boulder, CO

Thursday, February 13
Evans
6 - 9 p.m.
Evans City Hall, Cottonwood Banquet Room
1100 37th Street
Evans, CO 80620

Due to the expedited nature of the CDBG-DR program and the extremely limited amount of financial resources available, your participation at the hearing closest to your community is important. Citizens wanting to provide public comment at the hearings will be required to sign up upon arrival, with speakers going in the order they sign in.

As part of the state's Citizen Participation Plan (CPP), citizens are encouraged to review the Action Plan and provide feedback and comments. The Action Plan will be available for viewing on the state’s CDBG-DR website starting on Monday, February 10 with comments on the Action Plan being accepted through Tuesday, February 18, 2014.

To view the Action Plan, go to:  www.dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr

To provide comments online, go to: https://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr/content/comments-feedback

Thank you for your time and participation in this important process.