CDBG funding for ORR to be discussed in today’s public hearing

October 15, 2020 | 12:07 am

Updated October 14, 2020 | 10:37 pm

Graphic by Owensboro Times

A public hearing concerning an application for relief assistance for the Owensboro Regional Recovery Center will be held before the Daviess County Fiscal Court’s regularly scheduled meeting today at 5 p.m. 

In total, $2 million in assistance is being made available to recovery programs across the state through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) CARES Act funding.

Fiscal Court intends to apply for coronavirus relief assistance for ORR, which is the Daviess County Recovery Kentucky Project. 

The purpose of the public hearing is to obtain views on housing and community development needs, review proposed activities, review the proposed renewal application and solicit public comments. 

Judge-Executive Al Mattingly said it’s possible ORR could receive up to $200,000 in federal relief assistance if the application is approved at the state level. 

Mattingly said ORR normally receives about $1,000 in assistance to help cover operations, while the rest of the agency’s funding comes from the residents at ORR themselves. 

“They don’t get a free ride,” Mattingly said. “With that money and the CDBG grant, they have enough money to survive.” 

But when the COVID-19 pandemic caused nearly all court cases and hearings to be put on hold, it left ORR without a number of individuals who would have normally been approved through the courts system to become residents. 

“The Administrative Office of the Courts, or AOC, shut down the judicial center and they stopped making referrals [to ORR],” Mattingly said. “They went from having 90-100 residents to 40-50. There hasn’t been enough money outside of grants coming in.” 

A public hearing is always held anytime CDBG funding is on the table, Mattingly said. 

Although in-person attendance for these hearings and court meetings will not be available, the public hearing will be live streamed via Daviess County Fiscal Court’s Facebook page at 5 p.m. Comments may be submitted online during the live stream. Public Comments can also be sent via text or phone call to County Attorney Claud Porter at 270-929-1010. 

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October 15, 2020 | 12:07 am

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