FARMINGTON — Community action programs in Davis County will receive a boost this year from the federal government.
All told, more than $1.3 million will come to the county through Community Development Block Grants. The grants, based on an allocation from Congress, are to be used primarily to benefit low-to-moderate income residents.
Seven agencies and the cities of Farmington and Syracuse will split $842,560 — about $80,000 more than was received countywide in 2006. Two other cities, Layton and Clearfield, will receive $347,585 and $238,299 respectively.
"This reverses a five-year trend where this funding has been going down, down, down," said DeeEll Fifield, a community-development planner with Davis County Community and Economic Development.
Davis County applies to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the grants each year in behalf of local human-services agencies in the county. This year's recipients include the Davis Community Housing Authority, with $62,915 for emergency home repairs; Davis Behavioral Health, with $120,000 to purchase six vans for clients to get to employment, housing and appointments; and Affordable Land Lease Homes, with $65,000 to purchase a lot in the Syracuse area to build a home for a low- or moderate-income family.
Farmington city manager Max Forbush said his city plans to upgrade 150 to 200 curbs to make them accessible under the Americans With Disabilities Act with the $256,000 it will receive. The city will add a further $66,000 to make that happen in the late summer or fall.
Syracuse will receive $44,000 and will use that money, as well as $27,480 from the city and a $9,000 grant from Wal-Mart, to purchase a small bus for the city's senior center, said city administrator Rodger Worthen.
The Clearfield City Council is expected to approve its final plan for its $238,299 during its May 8 council meeting. The plan includes divvying up the money by spending $171,099 on down-payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, said Stacy Reel, the city's CDBG coordinator.
The rest of the money will be split among administrative costs, the Clearfield City Youth Resource Center, Family Connection Center, Safe Harbor and the Davis Community Housing Authority.
Layton's plan for $347,585 includes $140,000 for sidewalk improvements in low-income neighborhoods, said Ben Hart, the city's CDBG administrator.
Layton's down payment assistance program will get $45,000. The city also will ship money to the American Red Cross' emergency-shelter program, The Road Home, Safe Harbor and Family Connection Center.
And the city will donate $90,000 and land to have Layton High School students build a home for a low-to-moderate income family to purchase, Hart said.
E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com