News
Lexington Approved for CDBG Planning Grant to Study Housing Conditions
In October, the City of Lexington and the CSPDC received an award notice for a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The awarded planning grant will allow the City to complete a city-wide housing conditions and infrastructure windshield survey and needs assessment. The awarded grant will build off the momentum gained in the past two years through the CSDPC’s regional housing study and the City’s local efforts to address housing. Additionally, the assessment will help to guide the future direction of grants and programs.
In August, CSPDC staff met with Lexington’s Threshold Housing Commission to discuss the proposed CDBG Planning Grant and potential future activities related to housing conditions in the City. Threshold has a long history of identifying housing rehabilitation needs in Lexington, and plans to use the proposed CDBG Planning Grant as an updated assessment of the City’s current needs. The proposed grant will provide both the City of Lexington and Threshold with recommended priority neighborhoods for future investment.
The City will need to complete a Facilitated Planning Session with DCHD before moving forward with the project. Once complete, the City will work with the CSPDC to release an RFP and identify a consultant to conduct the windshield survey and needs assessment.
SHD Aviation Tech Park Holds Ribbon Cutting
The Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport cut the grand opening ribbon for a long-envisioned hangar project in its Aviation Technology Park. Two 14,000 square foot corporate aircraft hangars will support aviation-related business growth in the region. The ribbon cutting event on November 6 celebrated the completion of the project and recognized the project’s partners including two federal agencies involved in its funding, USDA Rural Development and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport Commission was awarded a $2 million grant from EDA for the project. The project is expected to create up to 75 high-paying jobs in the aviation technology and aviation maintenance sectors. The CSPDC was instrumental in helping the Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport apply for EDA funding and is providing grant administration services for the hangar project.
This achievement is the first step in a multi-phase master plan to build out the Aviation Technology Park and meet the demands of aviation related businesses and technologies in the area. The Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport currently has a $993,300 GO Virginia Per Capita Allocation Grant to install water and sewer lines that will prepare the remainder of the site for future expansion. The Technology Park master plan supports the development of up to five additional hangers that would continue to expand the aviation industry in the region.
Mount Crawford Awarded Funding for Public Park
The Town of Mount Crawford was awarded over $300,000 to create the town’s first public park and space behind Town Hall and along the North River. The park will include a sensory trail, sensory playground, picnic shelter, bathroom, parking, native tree walk, and direct access to the North River for fishing and kayaking. The project also ties in to a recently completed boat launch.
The CSPDC assisted the Town with the grant application. The project is being funded through a Virginia Outdoors Foundation grant, which provides funding for projects that provide public access to outdoor spaces.
Bath County Earns $2M DHS REMCDP Grant
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of award on September 28 to Bath County for $2,000,000 in funding under the Rural Emergency Medical Communications Demonstration Project (REMCDP) grant. The REMCDP seeks to leverage existing technologies and engage non-medical professionals to help establish or sustain statewide medical communications systems and use existing infrastructure to improve the delivery of rural medical care.
This funding stream will assist the Bath and Highland region with their efforts to modernize operability and interoperability systems within a unique geographical and federally restrictive communication setting. Both counties lie within the National Radio Quiet Zone which makes for a challenging environment to garner licensing for public safety and private radio systems. Each jurisdiction is also near the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the National Security Agency Sugar Grove Listening Station. This proximity creates additional hurdles for the area’s communication strategy. The region’s population of approximately 6,350 is served by the Bath Community Hospital (a Critical Access Hospital) and the Highland Medical Center (a Federally Qualified Health Center).
The project period runs through September 2025. For more information on the DHS REMCDP program visit: https://www.cisa.gov/resources-tools/services/rural-emergency-medical-communications-demonstration-project-remcdp, or contact the CSPDC at (540) 885-5174.
SAW Housing Summit Partners Launch Community Conversation Series
In partnership with the Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge, Augusta Health, Valley Community Services Board, and Valley Homeless Connection, the CSPDC is coordinating community conversations focused on pressing housing issues in our region.
These community conversations are intended as a follow-up to the SAW Housing Summit, held on October 11 and 12. The conversations will focus on topics that were not able to be included in the Summit agenda, but that have emerged as important housing topics to stakeholders in the region.
The first community conversation will be a ‘Sip & Speak’ session at the Embrace Waynesboro Community Center (932 Fir Street) on October 26th at 9am. Participants will be joined by Elizabeth Coltrane with Blue Ridge Legal Services to discuss challenges that renters in the Valley face and landlord-tenant concerns. Coffee will be provided. The second session will be a brown bag ‘Lunch & Learn’ at the Staunton Innovation Hub on November 9th at 12pm. At this session, Lydia Campbell with Valley Community Services Board will share her expertise on the Housing First model, and discuss innovative approaches to addressing homelessness in our community.
The SAW Housing Summit partners plan to hold additional future community conversations based on participant interest. We hope you are able to join us!