City accepts more than $300K in community development grants

Projects include senior center renovations

Simpsonville, S.C. — The City of Simpsonville is set to receive more than $300,000 in federal grants for community and neighborhood development after City Council passed a resolution to approve the funds on Tuesday.

Council voted 6-0* during its business meeting to adopt Resolution 2020-01, which resolves that the City accept $322,738 to provide affordable housing and complete projects that benefit low- to moderate-income persons. The funds derive from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships programs under the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

Simpsonville Community Relations Specialist Justin Campbell said the grant money will go toward making the City of Simpsonville home to families of all income levels and backgrounds.

"Simpsonville should be accessible as a place to live, work and play to both people with six-figure salaries and people who work 40 hours a week to make ends meet," Campbell said. "Economic growth and stability require a diverse workforce, and an increase in affordable housing and community development will ensure that lower wages are not an impediment to a higher quality of life."

The resolution requires that the $230,630 in CDBG funds to be used "to assist low- and moderate-income persons, reduce or eliminate slum and community blight, or meet an urgent community need" without other funding. With more than $100,000 earmarked for a facility improvement project, City Administrator Dianna Gracely said renovations to the Simpsonville Activity & Senior Center qualify for CDBG funds since the senior citizens served by the facility qualify as a low- to moderate-income population.  

Gracely said the qualifying CDBG funds can be combined with funds from the Senior Center Permanent Improvement Project (PIP) grant for which the City is applying to complete the renovations. The S.C. General Assembly established the PIP grant program 30 years ago to appropriate nearly $1 million annually to a list of capital improvement projects for the benefit of seniors.

"I'm currently working on a PIP grant through the state that we can combine with the Community Development Block Grant funding to completely renovate the community room, the kitchen and the outdoor space on the back side of the Activity Center to create a congregate dining facility at that location. Since we've been doing meal distribution this year, I think we have discovered that there's a great need for that service out of that facility. It's not being provided anywhere along the Golden Strip."

The Simpsonville Parks & Recreation Department partnered with local nonprofit Senior Action in the spring to provide free meals to senior citizens during the pandemic shortly after the Senior Center closed to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Any senior, no matter place of residence, can sign up for a daily free meal Monday-Friday by calling the Senior Center at 864-967-9533.

Gracely also identified removal of slum and blight and continued facade improvements as other major uses for the CDBG funds, for which $65,000 and $15,000 are earmarked, respectively.

The federal grants provided by HUD are distributed by the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority, which was established in 1974 to revitalize communities countywide. Program Director Imma Nwobodu presented to Council the county action plan for federal funds on which the resolution that Council adopted is based.

The resolution also requires that approximately $92,000 in HOME funds be used to "increase the supply of decent affordable housing" for low- and moderate-income persons. HOME funds are distributed throughout the county by GCRA.

Council voted 7-0 to green light the acceptance of the CDBG and HOME funds at the Committee of the Whole meeting in January. 

*Councilwoman Stephanie Kelley of Ward 2 was unable to attend the business meeting on Tuesday and therefore could not vote.