Housatonic — On Thursday, December 18, The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awards at an event at the Housatonic Community Center.
The announcement was made at an event that featured Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus, along with state and local leaders, including Great Barrington Town Manager Liz Hartsgrove, State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District), State Sen. Paul Mark (D – Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin, and Hampshire District), and Great Barrington Assistant Town Manager and Town Planner Chris Rembold.
The CDBG awards are funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities in order to help small cities and towns undertake projects to benefit low- and moderate-income residents.
Awardees in Berkshire County:
Mini-Entitlement communities
- North Adams: Senior Center Phase IV improvements and Prospect Hill area road improvements, $950,000.
Community Development Fund awards
- Great Barrington, Egremont, and Stockbridge: Housing rehab program, 14 units, $1.25 million;
- Lenox, and Sandisfield: Housing rehab program, 12 units, $1.05 million;
- New Marlborough, Mount Washington, and Otis: Housing rehab program, 15 units, $1.25 million;
- Hinsdale, and Florida: Housing rehab program, 11 homes, $950,000.
“I know we’ve got local officials from throughout the Commonwealth here, and many right here from nearby in the region, and I’m really grateful for the work you do every single day to uplift and empower a high-quality life in Massachusetts,” Lt. Gov. Driscoll told the audience towards the beginning of her speech. “[Secretary Augustus and I] have our roots in local government. We really recognize the importance of having strong local partners who are doing hard work every day, educating our kids, keeping our neighborhoods safe, and investing in the best of what makes our communities special. These are places where we make memories, and places that drive the economy. These dollars in particular can help do all of that, along with helping cure older housing stock and meet needs of community members who might find a desire to have a new roof or make a housing unit more accessible but don’t always have the resources to do it. These dollars are really special, and we’re really grateful.”
Lt. Gov. Driscoll emphasized the importance for her administration to “support the local governments with the resources and needs at a time when it is getting harder to make all of the budgets balance out, and that is one of the reasons these dollars are so critical.”
Driscoll said the grant will help support a significant amount of resources to the 60 communities that will receive the funds. “I was an intern in the Planning and Community Development Department in Salem, and I have seen firsthand what these dollars can do,” she said. “Sometimes, they are the catalyst to start a project. Other times it helps to fill in a gap that fulfills a need. At the end, most assuredly, they are all helping people in need, whether it’s a social service program or housing rehabilitation effort.”
In her speech, Great Barrington Town Manager Hartsgrove said the town is thankful for the grant and the support from the state. “This program reflects what is possible when federal, state, and local governments work together,” she said. “Public investments are a true reflection, guided by purpose, of the aligned priorities and shared responsibilities to the people of the communities that we serve. They can be significant beyond dollars alone because these programs and projects become instruments of stability, equity, and trust. It allows local governments to meet real needs, strengthen neighborhoods, and ensure residents can remain safely and securely in their homes, places where lives are built.”
“When it comes to CDBG dollars, as a former city manager of Worcester, I knew how important [these funds] were,” Secretary Augustus said. “They filled gaps, and they helped to do things that the local budget might not have been able to get done. By the state receiving those [federal] dollars on behalf of the non-entitlement communities, and being able to work with all of your communities as you try to figure out what’s that extra thing that you need to unlock housing or improve the quality of life for your residents, [this grant] is an opportunity to do that. Luckily, there is bipartisan support for this [grant] program, and we shouldn’t ever take it for granted.”
“I am very excited about these grants,” State Sen. Mark told The Berkshire Edge in an interview after the event. “It shows me that Boston is paying attention to Berkshire County and that we are going to get our fair share of grant funds. I think the money is going to go to great uses because, in the Berkshires, we know how to stretch a dollar and make it count.”
“It is validating to me that [the Healey-Driscoll administration] sees the impact and the contribution that we have in Berkshire County to the Commonwealth,” State Rep. Davis said. “The Commonwealth is paying attention to us. It’s great to see that they are all paying attention to our communities.”
