ORANGE — The town will not be getting an emergency generator for its third well for drinking water — not yet, at least.
But, that’s not necessarily bad news, because the town is now applying for an additional $150,000 for housing rehabilition via a Community Development Block Grant, in lieu of the $139,057 generator.
Glen Ohlund, Franklin County Regional Housing and Redevelopment Authority di rector of community development, came before the Selectboard Wednesday to explain there needed to be a change to the town’sCDBG application, which was approved after a public hearing on Jan. 30.
Ohlund received word from the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development that “additional documentation was going to be necessary for the water generator at the pump station,” showing that at least 51 percent of those served by the well are low to moderate-income individuals.
The federal community development grants funneled through the state are intended to benefit lower-income neighborhoods and residents.
With no time to conduct such a survey before the March 8 CDBG deadline, the money in the application will be redirected toward housing rehabilition. The $310,000 — up from an initial $160,000 — will go toward eight dwellings in town – if the grant is awarded –rather than only four. There are currently 12 dwellings in Orange on the housing rehabilitation waiting list for Franklin County HRA, which administers the grants once awarded.
“We know there’s demand, we know there’s need in Orange for the housing rehab program,” Ohlund said.
In addition to scrapping the generator and adding funds for housing rehabilitation, Ohlund decreased the $147,000 administration fee on the application by about $7,000 after getting feedback from the members of the Selectboard that the cost was too high.
“So, we get double the amount of houses with a reduced admin cost. That’s good,” Selectboard Vice Chairwoman Jane Peirce said. “I’m personally very happy to do more, happy because we really need it.”
The social services component of the application is unaffacted, and Orange is still asking for $100,000 to be split between five area organizations, Quabbin Mediation, LifePath, the Literacy Project, Seeds of Solidarity and CHD.
In total, Orange is asking for $550,000 in its application, only about $4,000 more than before the generator was taken out.
The idea of building an emergency generator, which will allow the water station to continue operating if its main power source fails, isn’t being deserted. Ohlund said the survey will be conducted, and the emergency generator could be included on a future applications.
“In the meantime, we’ll be working with the Water Department to get the documentation required,” Ohlund said.
Despite the substantial change to the application, there will be no second public hearing, because the Selectboard’s vote is legally separate from the public hearing process, even if both occur at the same meeting.
The Franklin County Housing Rehabilitation Program offers zero-interest deferred payment loans up to $40,000 for single-family and multifamily homes to bring them into compliance with local building codes, as well as weatherizing the buildings. Franklin County HRA does this in every Franklin County town except Greenfield, which has its own housing authority, and, when CDBG funds are used, the rehabilitation program addresses CDBG’s main goal of fighting urban blight.
The funding for CDBG comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which splits the money up among the states. In Massachusetts, those funds are apportioned by DHCD, with grants typically awarded in July or August.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.