West Central Development Council -
Community Development Assistance Program Grant Application

The West Central Development Council (WCDC), located in Carlinville submits, these six (6) different kinds of grant applications on an annual basis. Please be advised that it normally takes a minimum of three (3) months to put one of these grants together from start to finish. The grant applicant must allow time for preliminary engineering, income surveys, health and safety documentation, public hearings etc. The cooperation of the community and the project engineer are of critical importance.

l . Public Facilities Construction - Acquisition construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or installation of public facilities and improvements are eligible activities. Project areas must be primarily residential in character. (This does not include buildings used predominantly for the general conduct of government). Funds may also be used to finance costs associated with the connection of residential structures to public facility improvements. The funding priority for this component is for water and sanitary and storm sewer projects.

2. Design Engineering - Eligible design engineering activities are final design engineering of large-scale projects for new or expanding water or sewer systems.

Application deadlines for the Public Facilities Construction/Design Engineering were included in the 2004 Action Plan. The deadlines listed above apply to PY `06. The criteria used to evaluate the 2006 applications are primarily the same as PY `05. However, the state reserves the right to revise criteria prior to the applications deadline.

3. Planning - Planning Assistance grants may be used for a variety of planning activities which are construction-orientated and focus on the needs of low-to-moderate income persons in the community. Eligible planning activities include: studies, data gathering analyses, preparation of specific plans, and identification of implementing actions. Planning projects, which address problems of a health and safety nature, such as water or sewer problems, are a funding priority under this component.

4. Emergency Public Facilities: Eligible activities are identical to those in Competitive Public Facilities component but which are of an urgent nature and have occurred outside the normal funding cycle.

5. Housing Rehabilitation -• The program targets housing projects, which preserve single-family occupied housing and encourage neighborhood revitalization. The funds are available to address the housing needs of eligible low-to-moderate incomer persons by bringing existing housing up to standard conditions which at a minimum must meet Section 8 Existing Housing Quality Standards, State Plumbing Codes, National Electrical Code, and applicable local codes.

The program emphasizes the dual goal of serving low-to-moderate income residents and maximizing program impact. Communities are encouraged to supplement CDAP funds with other available financial resources such as the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (RD) or the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) as well as other local resources.

6. Economic Development_- Only projects that create and/or retain permanent jobs in the industrial and commercial sectors will be funded. Projects should attract sizable private investment, have solid commitments to create or retain permanent jobs and demonstrate financial feasibility and benefit to low-to-moderate income persons. Further, there must be evidence that the project and related investment would not occur without CDAP involvement.

CDAP Economic Development funds may be used to assist private for-profit and not-for-profit business to carry out economic development projects. Generally, CDAP grant funds granted to communities to be provided as financial assistance to a private profit or not-for-profit entity that must document the need for grant and/or financial assistance. The recipient may use the funds for land acquisition; construction, reconstruction, installation or rehabilitation of commercial or industrial buildings, structures and other real property; equipment and improvements; and working capital. Working capital is defined as inventory, employee salaries, general operating expenses and advertising/marketing expenses. The refinancing of existing debt is not an eligible activity.

Infrastructure Economic Development Grants are also available.

On average the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity receives over 200 grant applications each year requesting in excess of $60 million, but unfortunately there is only $20 million available for disbursement. The program is available to all the communities in Illinois provided they meet certain criteria. The program is so competitive the State can only fund 85-90 projects. The West Central Development Council appreciates the continued support fop the local health departments.

If you know of any community, township, water or sewer district that can use our services please let them know that because their county pays yearly dues to the WCDC that our services are free of charge.

Please feel free to contact Michael Cavanaugh at any time at (217) 854-9642. He will be glad to explain the different grant components, the amount of funds available, and the grant application deadlines.