Maldden alld a Vol. 29, No. 7 den -FREEMalden Chamber To Host State of The City — see page 5 AADDV CATEAC CATCTE AT www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday Junior Aid Assoc. of Malden hosts Valentine Derby 617-387-2200 Friday, February 14, 2020 CDBG program welcomes proposals to support neighbors in need By Barbara Taormina T he city is looking ahead to a new round of federal funding through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, and the Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA), which manages the grant, has been reaching out to explain how the program works and how local organizations can participate. MRA Community Development Director Alex Pratt was at the Senior Center this week with information, guidelines and applications for funding through the CDBG program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). Malden will receive a $1.35 million grant this year which will fund a range of programs that serve the city’s low-to-moderate-income residents. “About 35 percent of Malden’s Mayor Gary Christenson (left) and State Representative Paul Donato during the Valentine Derby hosted on February 9 by the Junior Aid Association of Malden. See page 10 for photo highlights. MHS Hockey Senior Night Malden High School Senior Kevin Ivany of Malden, a Revere/Malden/Matignon High School Co-Op Hockey Team player, is shown thanking his dedicated parents, Maureen and Joe, during Senior Night at Cronin Rink this past week. (Courtesy of Twitter@Mayorof Malden) grant will go toward payments on Section 108 federal loans,” said Pratt, adding that the loans have been used to fund road repairs in low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods, the reconstruction of Lincoln Commons and renovations to the Senior Center. Although Malden has benefi ted from the 108 Loan Program, Pratt noted the loans have cut into the MRA’s ability to deploy CDBG funds to support other programs and services. Still, the MRA stretches the annual grant to fund zero interest loan programs for home repairs for low-to-moderate-income property owners and capital improvement projects that benefi t the city’s low-to-moderate-income population. “HUD allows us to use 15 percent of the total grant for public service programs,” said Pratt, adding that this year there will be about $200,000 in CDBG funds for public services that directly impact low-to-moderate-income residents. Every fi ve years, HUD requires CDBG recipients to outline priorities and strategies to fight poverty in a in a consolidated plan. In the MRA’s new fi ve-year plan for 2020-2024, the preservation and development of affordable housing, rehabilitation of existing housing and support for homebuyers continue to be priorities. In other priority areas, Pratt said, the plan includes a new emphasis on climate resiliency, economic justice and support for immigrant communities. For example, the 2020-2024 plan calls for public services and programs to remove language barriers, increase accessibility, improve public health, promote climate adaptation and environmental justice and support economic opportunity for the city’s low-to-moderate-income residents, particularly immigrants, children, seniors, domestic violence survivors and people with disabilities. The plan also prioritizes improvements to parks, public facilities and infrastructure that increase accessibility, resiliency to climate change and address other issues that disproportionately aff ect low-to-moderate-income residents. The new plan continues to prioritize economic development to provide opportunities to low-to-moderate-income residents. But unlike the MRA’s 2015 plan that focused on the potential of Malden’s downtown revitalization to generate good jobs with higher wages, the new plan calls for job readiness, skills training and small business support to address income inequality and to provide economic opportunities for residents and households that earn less than 50 percent of the area median income of $113,300. According to Pratt, 40 percent of Malden residents fall into that group. Pratt explained that local groups applying for funding for a public service program need to highlight how their proposals address at least one of the priorities outlined in the new five-year plan, which is available on the MRA website. Applications for public services funding must also show that that the proposed program will provide a new service or a quantifi - able increase in an existing service that will make a signifi cant diff erence to Malden residents with the greatest needs. Public service programs that received CDBG funding last year in include Communitas, a family swim program for low-to-moderate-income, developmentally disabled children, the Youth Harbors program, which off ers supCDBG | SEE PAGE 7
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