FULTON, NY – The city of Fulton learned this week that it was successful, once again, in its efforts to secure funding through the state’s Community Development Block Grant program.
The Community Development Block Grant program is a federally funded program authorized by Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The program provides communities with resources to address a range of community development needs. It is one of the longest continuously run programs at HUD.
“We wrote an application for a $650,000 grant that would cover four activities for the Seneca/Erie Street revitalization project,†said Joseph Fiumara, executive director of the Fulton Community Development Agency.
“This money will help us tackle one of the last pieces in the puzzle for our plan in that area,†Fiumara noted.
Fiumara pointed out that the city purchased two homes in the area and rehabilitated them for resale through its first-time homebuyer program. The new grant funding, he said, will help complete additional infrastructure efforts in the area such as public water and sewer, sidewalks and curbing.
In addition to public facilities work, the activities that will benefit from the grant funding will include housing rehabilitation work, affordable homeownership and the HELP program, which provides funding for emergency home repairs to elderly homeowners.
“This grant will really help us to put the finishing touches in that neighborhood, to finish what we’ve already started working on,†Fiumara said. “People area already starting to notice the changes.â€ÂÂ
Fiumara said that the city received the full $650,000 it requested through the application process. He pointed out that the city of Oswego and Oswego County were also awarded funding through this year’s funding cycle. Fulton received its notification Tuesday.
Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward said he was “thrilled†to learn that the city’s application was successful.
“We’ve been focusing on neighborhoods for a while,†Woodward said. “I think everyone knows that. But we are also focusing on our aging infrastructure. That becomes such a huge ball and chain for every older municipality.â€ÂÂ
Woodward noted that the city has already been able to replace several aging water lines and sidewalks through grant funding that was received earlier this summer for the Cayuga Street corridor.
The new money, he said, will focus efforts on Erie and Seneca streets from Route 481 to Fifth Street.
“With that money secured, we can start working on the infrastructure for that area this fall,†Woodward said. “We will also be able to do some housing rehabilitation work.
“These grants are really wonderful, especially those that allow us to focus on neighborhoods and infrastructure,†Woodward added. “Without grants, those projects are difficult for municipalities to do without borrowing money.â€ÂÂ
He noted that the grant will provide for materials and that the city’s workforce, which is already in place for other needs, will manage the labor end of the projects.
“We are also waiting for the results on another grant we wrote to purchase and rehab four more houses,†Woodward noted.
Woodward noted that the CDA recently completed a housing rehabilitation project for the property at 515 W. Second St.
“That was something that we took on back taxes and turned over to the CDA for this program,†Woodward said. “They’ve done the work and already have someone interested in buying. I toured the home after it was finished. It looks great.
“The city has a lot of positive things happening,†Woodward added. “This new grant money will help us to continue to move forward with those efforts.â€ÂÂ
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