FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 19, 2006
For more information contact:

Steve Achter, Investment Ready Communities Director
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2811

Tom Lacock, Senior Marketing and Public Relations Specialist
Wyoming Business Council
Office: 307.777.2834

Deadlines announced for Community Development Block Grant Applications

CHEYENNE – The deadline for cities, counties and towns to apply for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds has been announced by the Wyoming Business Council this week.

The deadline for Community Development CDBG grants is July 10. Community Development Grants are available to help with access for the disabled, community facilities or public infrastructure.

The economic development grants are awarded quarterly and thusly, there are four deadlines over the course of the year for submitting applications. They are: May 1, August 1, November 1 and February 1, 2007.

The economic development CDBG awards include eight different categories such as infrastructure grants, job training grants, planning only grants, technical assistance grants, downtown development grants, convertible loans, float loans and Section 108 loans.

CDBG awards for housing development are administered through the Wyoming Community Development Authority (WCDA) and are generally used for housing rehabilitation and housing infrastructure development.

The CDBG Program is a federally funded pass through grant program from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Since the inception of the program, Wyoming has received annual allocations ranging from a low of $2.2 million, to a high of $3.7 million. For the 2006 program, the state has received $3,225,175. Only counties and incorporated cities and towns are eligible to apply for CDBG funds. Local governments may apply on behalf of other units of government, non-profit and for-profit businesses and special interest groups.

The cities of Casper and Cheyenne are not eligible because they are entitlement cities and receive CDBG funds directly from HUD. However, Laramie and Natrona counties may apply on behalf of a project located within Cheyenne or Casper if the project is shown to benefit residents on a county-wide basis.

Program applicants also must show they can meet one of three HUD-imposed objectives. Those include: benefit to low and moderate income families, elimination of slums and blight or an urgent community development need that poses a serious and immediate threat to health of welfare of a community.

The mission of the Wyoming Business Council is to facilitate the economic growth of Wyoming. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.wyomingbusiness.org.

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