Crystal Surdyk, city development director, discussing the $1.2 million rental rehabilitation program with the Jamestown City Council during its voting session meeting Monday. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

More than $1 million will be going toward improving rental properties in the city of Jamestown.

On Monday, the Jamestown City Council approved a resolution creating a rental rehabilitation program with federal American Rescue Plan Act funding totaling $1,227,069. The appropriation includes $1,043,031.60 that will go to rental rehabilitation while $184,037.40 will go toward administering the program.

Prior to the council passing the resolution, a public hearing was held with Crystal Surdyk, city development director, discussing the program. She said the funding is in addition to the $28 million the city received in federal stimulus money. She added that because Jamestown is considered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development an entitlement community, the city received $1.2 million in funding to go toward the rental rehabilitation program.

Surdyk said landlords can apply for $15,000 per unit, with a 10% match. She said there will also be a maintenance agreement and a five-year anti-speculation agreement to discourage and penalize people if they sell their property after receiving the funds.

Surdyk said the rental rehab program was created after meeting with local housing agencies to determine the “critical” needs in the community. She said there is no maximum amount of funding a landlord can receive altogether if they submit more than one application. She added that each application will be reviewed individually.

Marie Carrubba, Ward 4 councilwoman, said the rental property needs to be up to code to receive any funds.

During the public speaking portion of the public hearing, Doug Champ, a city resident, said the city needs to invest more money in trying to assist people in buying their own home instead of renting property. He also questioned why the city is allocating funds to landlords for improving their properties, which should be an action rental property owners should already be appropriating money toward. He said it will be easy for landlords to profit from the program.

CDBG, HOME ANNUAL ACTION PLAN

The council also discussed the creation of the HUD annual Community Development Block Grant and HOME action plan. On March 26, the first of several public meetings and walking tour was held to receive input in how the city should spend about $1.5 million in federal funding. The city will have five more community meetings to gather public input.

The schedule of meetings includes 10 a.m. April 9 at Washington Middle School; 6 p.m. April 12 at Jackson-Taylor Park; 6 p.m. April 21 at Lincoln Elementary School; 10 a.m. May 7 at Fletcher Elementary School; and 6 pm. May 17 at Willard Park.

In the event of rain or a storm, the meetings will be held in the lobby of the Jamestown Municipal Building, located at 200 E. Third St., Jamestown.

In January 2021, the council approved using a total of $1,540,516, with $1,198,049 in CDBG funding and $342,467 in HOME funding toward the annual action plan. Community officials in New York state use the CDBG and HOME funding to address a wide range of needs, which enables local governments to support affordable housing initiatives and expand economic development. The CDBG program provides municipalities in New York with critical funding for transformative and unique development projects and needed funding to leverage outside investment in job creation projects. The funds continue to play a critical role in facilitating local economic development in Upstate NY and helping local governments succeed.

HOME funding is the primary source of funding for state and local governments to buy and rehabilitate affordable housing. According to HUD, the HOME program provides grants to states and localities that communities use, often in partnership with local nonprofit groups or development companies. These communities and organizations then fund activities such as building, buying and rehabilitating affordable housing units for rent or homeownership. HOME is the largest federal block grant provided to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing.

HUD officials have three purposes for the use of CDBG funding. The first is to prevent or eliminate slums or blight, the second is to benefit low-to-moderate-income residents and the third is to meet a particularly urgent need for the municipality. The CDBG program stipulates that at least 70% of funding must be used for low-to-moderate-income benefit activities, and no more than 30% of funds can be used for slums and blighted areas.