By Kristin Rover
Sun staff

Clermont County Commissioners are moving forward with $642,300 in Community Development Block Grant projects that were selected last year.

Commissioners approved an agreement with the Ohio Development Service Agency during their Jan. 14 meeting for the projects.

Projects this year are reconstruction of Walnut Street in Felicity, septic rehabilitation for the Clermont County Health District, sidewalk improvements in the village of Williamsburg, repairs to the James Sauls Homeless Shelter parking lot and funds to support the Fair Housing program, said Annette Decatur, grant coordinator for the Department of Community and Economic Development.

“We hope to get them all started in 2015,” Decatur said about the projects.

The Critical Infrastructure Award of $212,300, went to the village of Felicity for the Walnut Street Improvement Project. Reconstruction work on Walnut Street will occur between North Market Street and West Street in the village, Decatur said.

The village of Williamsburg project was awarded $64,000 for sidewalk improvements on South Fifth Street.

The homeless shelter will receive $55,000 for parking lot improvements at the shelter. The health district will receive $150,000 for the Septic Rehabilitation Program.

Just over $17,000 will be used for the Fair Housing Program in Clermont County, which provides resources to educate and assist with the prevention of housing discrimination and tenant and landlord rights in the county, Decatur said.

“We get the information out to the public,” Decatur said about the fair housing program.

The process of selecting grant recipients from around the county takes several months, Decatur said.

“We go through the review process back in April after applications are turned in,” Decatur said. “We take them before the board and make recommendations.”

Soon the CDBG program will work differently for the county, Decatur said, because the county is in the process of transitioning from the program administered by the state to an urban county status administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“The CDBG entitlement program allocates annual grants to larger cities and urban counties to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low and moderate income persons,” Decatur said.

Because Clermont County’s population has reached more than 200,000, the are eligible to apply for CDBG funds directly from HUD, Decatur said.

“Typically this will make more CDBG funds available as it eliminates the need to apply for competitive grants, such as those administered by the state,” Decatur said.

She said she does not have those grant amounts yet.