Governor Phil Scott was in Springfield's Cinema 3 movie theater on Wednesday to announce $3.5 million in federal community development block grant funds for eight projects all over the state, including $400,000 for Springfield.
December 20, 2017 Press Release:
Governor Phil Scott announces $3.5 million in grants to support housing affordibility and downtown redevelopment
Springfield, Vt. – Governor Phil Scott today joined local, state and federal partners Wednesday in Springfield to announce over $3.5 million in community development grants to eight communities. Brownfield clean-up in Rockingham, downtown redevelopment in Springfield and funding for home repair programs statewide.
These are among the projects receiving more than $3.5 million in grants from the Vermont Community Development Program announced today.
The Town of Springfield and its partners, Housing Vermont and Springfield Housing Authority, will leverage a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant to restore the iconic Woolson Block property on Main Street, building affordable apartments on the upper floors and new commercial space on the ground floor.
“From Brattleboro to St. Albans, communities across Vermont will use these grants to build affordable housing, clean up contaminated sites for redevelopment, expand services to their residents, restore historic buildings, plan for the future and make their communities more affordable,” said Gov. Scott.
“I’m encouraged by the efforts of our statewide network of HomeOwnership Centers – supported with these grants today – to help low and moderate-income Vermonters invest in their homes through much-needed home repairs, improvements, energy upgrades and accessibility modifications. I’m also very pleased to see this funding available statewide, to support small scale landlords in their efforts to improve existing housing stock,” added Gov. Scott. “This work is important to my administration’s focus on growing the economy, making Vermont more affordable, and protecting the most vulnerable.”
The state awards approximately $7 million annually in competitive grants through Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development. The grants are funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant Program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Funding is targeted to address the needs of lower income Vermonters and represents a true partnership between the federal, state and local government.
“We are excited to support this array of community projects, and thank all the people and organizations working hard every day to improve the lives of Vermonters and the communities we call home,” said Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development Deputy Commissioner Josh Hanford.
Vermont’s congressional delegation has been steadfast in supporting the funding that makes the program possible. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) congratulated Wednesday’s recipients, adding, in a joint statement: “Housing is a vital part of our communities’ infrastructure, and housing is one of the most important investments we can make to support individuals, families and the economic vitality and quality of life that we want for our state. These latest grants add to more than $400 million in federal CDBG funds that have been allocated to Vermont in the program’s 43-year history, leveraging more than $4 billion in additional investments. Now is not the time to make slashing cuts, as the President has proposed. We must strengthen these investments to ensure Vermont communities remain accessible and affordable. As we approach a year-end funding deal, we will continue to fight for CDBG to ensure that Vermont does not lose out on this irreplaceable funding source.”
For information about the Vermont Community Development Program, please see the Agency of Commerce and Community Development website at: http://accd.vermont.gov/.
- $28,000 - Town of Plainfield – Cutler Memorial Library Planning Grant: Subgrant to Cutler Memorial Library to help plan for an addition to the building to allow the library to be in full compliance with state and federal accessibility requirements.
- $40,000- Village of Essex Jct. – Northwestern Vermont Housing Data Community Profiles: Subgrant to Vermont Housing Finance Agency to create a web-based, interactive resource that provides residents, municipal officials and planners with up-to-date, vetted housing need indicators in a variety of user-friendly formats for communities in Chittenden, Franklin and Grand Isle counties.
- $150,000 - Town of Rockingham – Robertson Mill Redevelopment: Subgrant to Island Holdings LLC for the demolition of Robertson Mill building and removal of hazardous material. This project will alleviate a blighted portion of downtown Bellows Falls and provide for future commercial development opportunities.
- $725,000 - Town of Brattleboro (Consortium with Barre City) – 5-County Homeownership Services Program: Subgrant to Windham & Windsor Housing Trust to deliver home repair and housing counseling services program to a five-county region including Windham, Windsor, Orange, Lamoille, and Washington Counties.
- $635,000 - City of St. Albans – Champlain Housing Home Repair Loan Program: Subgrant to Champlain Housing Trust to deliver a home repair and housing counseling services program in Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle counties.
- $800,000 - Town of West Rutland – NeighborWorks of Western Vermont Revolving Loan Fund: Subgrant to NeighborWorks of Western Vermont to deliver a home repair and housing counseling services program in Addison, Bennington and Rutland counties.
- $726,000 - Town of Lyndon – Northeast Kingdom Revolving Loan Fund: Subgrant to Rural Edge to deliver home repair and housing counseling services program in Caledonia, Essex and Orleans counties.
- $400,000 - Town of Springfield – Woolson Block: Deferred Loan to Woolson Block Limited Partnership, formed by Springfield Housing Authority and Housing Vermont, for the redevelopment of the Woolson Block into 21 affordable apartments and 3,400 SF of commercial space.
Spend it wisely. Don't steal it. Don't hire some bozo consultant and give them half of the money. We are sick of those things.
ReplyDeleteWell, here we go, more low income housing downtown. As if there aren't already enough panhandlers and drug addicts down there. Why bother with the new park when no one of any means will use it? News flash: broke people don't have the money to shop downtown! All they do is hang around and bother the people who do! Remember the old Woolson Block?
ReplyDeleteActually, Springfield Housing runs a pretty tight ship on who is in their apartments, and they conduct inspections for property condition on a regular basis. As far as landlords upkeeping their property, they are better than many in town. I'm sure they will make sure that the building is kept up once renovation is completed.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the building I'm worried about, it's the people living in it that worry me. Face it, people with no money are not an asset to downtown. Having no money means they will not shop there. Since there is no other place for them to go, they will spend their days and nights hanging around, panhandling, making rude comments and maliciously eyeballing the people who have money, and can shop there. People will eventually avoid downtown, and the businesses will fail. I've seen it everywhere I've ever lived, and there are numerous sociological studies that bear this out; mixing the cronic poor in with the middle or upper classes INCREASES social tension, it does not lessen it. This will be a disaster, mark my words. I'm not heartless, I believe in publicly funded programs for the poor, and always have. I simply question the wisdom of putting them downtown. It's simple economics.
Delete@ 8:57, forgive me if I and 9:42 aren't buying what you're selling. See, we've heard it before regarding the prison proposal. And we all know how well that worked out. Keep in mind SHA properties pay little or no property taxes into the community, and it's their tenants that consume the majority of services. As so often said, "follow the money." I smell someone getting a huge payday out of this.
DeleteI really think these comments fall on deaf ears.
DeleteDeaf ears or closed minds? One thing I understand about ideologues on both the left AND the right is their ability to ignore EVERYTHING that contradicts their beliefs.
DeleteGuess what I am saying is that "they " don't read this.
DeleteIf I recall correctly, Springfield Housing Authority does pay taxes on its properties. "Little or no taxes" would indicate that property taxation levels in town must be fairer than Anonymous has previously alleged.
ReplyDeleteOk, here it is in a nutshell. The leaders of this town say they want to attract tech jobs and tech people to Springfield. That's great, but know this: tech professionals are used to, AND WILL DEMAND, a MUCH higher standard of living than this town can currently provide. I've known a lot of them; they will run screaming in horror from the blight and poverty here. If you want people with brains, talent and education to move here, YOU HAVE TO GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT! What they WANT is a downtown with upscale housing, restaurants, and entertainment, NOT people on welfare! Low income housing is the KISS OF DEATH for any revitalization effort; we should be tearing it down, not adding more! Are you listening, Select Board?
ReplyDelete100% correct. If you look at the picture, that is the problem. Do I see many fresh faces? Nope same elected officials who have seen the demise of Springfield and keep getting elected. We need to clean house. I would love to see my property value increase, but as long as the focus is always put on low income it will not.
DeleteSpeaking of property values, am I the only one having my home re-appraised right now? They came to my house, and I refused to let them in. The only other house I saw them go to was the one down the street that sold last summer. Seems fishy.
Delete@9:19 AM Your assessment is an irrefutable fact shared by most every property owner in the community. So you have to ask yourself, why are these few individuals so enthusiastic about getting their hands on what will be well over a million in renovation funds? Funds that are distributed with little of no critical oversight. Anyone experienced in government and municipal construction is well aware of contractor kick backs. The crime families of NY and NJ have nothing on this debacle.
DeleteWhat worries me about the re-assesment is that the last time properties were assesed was before the housing collapse. This means that many properties (including mine) have been grossly over-valued, and therefore over-taxed, for years. Do they now think that they can add MORE over-value to this, since I have been fixing it up? PROBABLY! This would be outrageous; punishing those of us who fix up our houses with higher taxes, while rewarding the slobs who don't with lower taxes! I sincerely hope the editors of this blog will pay attention to this one!
DeleteSo, you want the best and brightest to move in and bring their money with them? Then you want to invest in making the town better. We already have close to the highest speed Internet service, which is a big draw. We put money into making the downtown more visually attractive. We organize to improve the school system vastly. And we let them know that when they arrive here, the town is ready to have them have a hand in improving it further still.
ReplyDeleteMost people don't know it, but there is already a lot of money in town. It merely remains to make it worthwhile for that money to be used for internal improvements.
Make it "worthwhile for that money to be used for internal improvements"? Cleaning this town up seems worthwhile in and of itself, not just for those who would move here and "spend money," but also for those of us who ALREADY HAVE, and just want to live in a nice town, with things to do in it! And tell me, if you please, just where all this money is?
DeleteGood news is Trump has given the low income families a tax break (or is it an increase?).
ReplyDeletePlus to stimulate the coal industry everyone gets a lump for their Christmas stocking. Complaints of the Donald.
DeleteIn 2019 (after next year’s election, I will point out), taxes will start to rise on people making less than $10,000 a year, going from $79.96 more to $530.42 more by 2027.
DeleteFor people making $30-40,000, they will rise from $48.37 more in 2021 to $467.93.
People who are making $40-50K will pay $366.86 in 2027, while those above them will pay $138.91 more in 2027.
$50-75K in 2027— $138.91
$40-50K— $366.86
$30-40K— $467.93
$20-30K— $743.14
$10-20K— $788.10
$0-10K $530.42
The really funny thing about this is that the less people make, the more they will pay in extra taxes! It’s almost as though the GOP is mocking the very people who voted for them. ”We told you government is bad for you; you elected us. Now we’re proving it.”
They don't even try to hide it anymore. Why does a dog lick its butt? BECAUSE IT CAN!
DeleteHey you Republicans, why did you vote for this big rip off? You must have a reason. No millionaires need to reply. Guess if no one replys you must be millionaires.
DeleteThese are all non profit organizations. They take their cut. Wonder how much will be left?
ReplyDeleteI had my assessment done awhile ago and the person that did it was probably the most intelligent person I have spoken with in a long time. What I feel will happen is property values will drop, but our taxes won’t, if anything increase because the town doesn’t ever cut their budgets and without business it will get stuck on the homeowner again. Put my home in Chester the value would be double, Ludlow triple. I bet I couldn’t sell it now for what I paid and all the upgrades done. So as long as homes are selling for peanuts, Springfield is in trouble.
ReplyDeleteHere is a good way for the GOP to get money to offset the 1.5 trillion, pose a 75 percent tax on personal charity donations. That way they can collect that money suppose to go to the needy like St. Judes or the Red Cross.
ReplyDeleteWhat this town needs is people who see value in a house and neighborhood that everybody else assumes will always be crumby, roll up their sleeves and fix it up (making the neighborhood look better, too) and then live there. As long as we don't value people like those, we're going to stay stuck in a hole.
ReplyDeleteThat's EXACTLY what I did, and now they're trying to raise my taxes because of that. The literally rat infested death trap that I bought was being taxed at $110,000, about four to five times what it was actually worth when I bought it. After years of work, and nearly 70k invested, I would be lucky to get 100k for it; STILL less than what it's being taxed at now, and LESS than what I have into it. Yet, it appears as if the town is going to raise its fair market value, with the massively inflated assesment done at the peak of the housing boom, as the starting point. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL, but sadly, what I've come to expect from this town. I know Springfield is hard up for money, but screwing everyone who shows up and contibutes to it is the wrong way to get it!
DeleteSome people shoulder the burdens of civic responsibility better than others.
DeleteChuck, you don't even live here, so you don't have the right to comment on the "civic responsibilites" of those who do. It is not my responsibility to get ripped off so that you and your kind can reap a profit. If they taxed slumlords like yourself at a rate based on the amount of damage your skid row properties do to OUR property values, maybe we honest homeowners could get a break. Don't even TRY to deny it; raking in the cash from governmemt-funded slums is the pinnacle of civic IRRESPONSIBILITY!
DeleteChester Chuck prefers not to speak of where he resides. His real focus is on just how to spend Springfield's tax revenue.
DeleteI believe the proper term for referring to one's bosom is "chesty."
ReplyDeleteThat said, if people want to reduce their taxes, there are some really easy ways to do that! For example, we could get rid of the town plows. Why should I, a Springfield resident and property owner, have to pay to have the streets plowed in front of homes where the unworthy (poor, non-white, uneducated, immigrant, non-Christian, welfare-recipient and/or non-native Vermonters) live? Better that we should walk through knee-deep snow and shovel our own path for our car than those freeloaders take advantage of our taxes!
We would have saved $10,000 just this weekend!
Yes Chuck, why am I paying to plow the sidewalks in front of your slum rentals, where you profit from other people's misery at the taxpayer's expense? GRAB A SHOVEL!
DeleteHow did you find out about my slum rental properties in Springfield? George Soros assured me the information would never be revealed...
DeleteMerry Christmas Chuck- I hope you are well on this snowy Christmas Day. Springfield got about 8 inches of snow, but I imagine things are about the same in Chester. I have noticed you have been losing some of the support from your Springfield constituents. Hoping that you are possibly considering a run in Bellows Falls or Chester. Maybe shoot high... Boston?
DeletePlease don't feed the troll. It just encourages him to turn this and every other local forum into his own, personal soap box. Many of us have lost all patience with the non stop rhetoric and disrespect.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that!
Delete