News - Local News

POSTED: Monday, Mar. 09, 2009

Feds give $3 million to Whatcom County housing and homeless programs

Housing and homeless programs in Whatcom County will get a little more than $3 million as part of $10.1 billion in federal economic stimulus money being released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Washington state will receive nearly $168.6 million as part of the HUD portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The money will be used to make homes energy-efficient, create jobs and help communities hardest hit by the nation’s economic crisis, HUD officials said.

The money was released one week after President Obama signed the measure Feb. 17.

"They're really responding much quicker than you would anticipate from HUD," said David Cahill, block grant programs manager for the city of Bellingham, which is among the agencies receiving money.

The speedy turnaround has local agencies scrambling to launch their programs even as they await guidelines on how to go about distributing money in the community, especially given the requirement that project bids be awarded within 120 days of agencies getting the money.

That's a short timeframe for such bid awards.

"The federal government got this out in record time. My brain is reeling," said John Harmon, executive director of Bellingham/Whatcom County Housing Authorities.

Agencies in Whatcom County known to be getting funding, which was based primarily on formulas so money could be distributed quickly, and the amounts they will receive, are:

• $775,500 to Bellingham Housing Authority.

• $159,086 to Whatcom County Housing Authority.

• A little more than $1.2 million to Lummi Nation and $342,178 to the Nooksack Tribe for their housing programs for renovation and to make them more energy-efficient.

• $227,522 to the city of Bellingham for its Community Development Block Grant Program.

• $300,000 to $400,000 for rental assistance to battle homelessness over the next three years, according to Greg Winter, director of the Whatcom Homeless Service Center and chairman of the Whatcom County Coalition for the Homeless.

Winter said the money will come to Whatcom County through the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.

More dollars could trickle down to local programs, but agency officials are awaiting details.

Harmon said the housing authority money will be used at three of its family units in Bellingham and Whatcom County to make them more energy-efficient. Projects include installing new siding, heating systems, tankless water-heating systems, and Energy Star appliances, primarily refrigerators. He said the projects were selected because it would be possible to award bids for the work within 120 days.

The housing authority also will benefit from another portion of the federal dollars that will give a little more than $43 million to Washington through the Tax Credit Assistance Program to jump-start construction of low-income housing, which has come to a standstill.

Harmon said doing so will help with the second phase of the five-story Walton Place, an affordable housing project on North State Street.

The project has stalled for three to six months as the housing authority searches for an investor. The pool of private investors, who receive tax credits for investing in low-income public housing projects, is drying up because of the floundering economy.

The city of Bellingham's Cahill said he's awaiting more instructions from HUD for how to distribute the local dollars within the tight, 120-day timeline, especially since the usual process can take as long as a year.

"The devil is always in the details," Cahill said, adding that in the past the city's block grants have been used to fund social services, affordable housing programs and home rehabilitation.