Sunday, January 31, 1999
Five cities may join to seek grants
Consortium could expand federal aid
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — The governing bodies of Northern Kentucky's five Ohio River cities will be asked Wednesday to consider forming a consortium to seek millions of dollars in federal grant money.
Brighton Center and Southbank Partners will present the plan in a special meeting of the River Cities Government Coalition at the Newport city building. Covington, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton and Ludlow governing bodies will be in attendance.
Covington is the only one of the five cities that has entitlement status. By joining forces and becoming an entitlement area, the other four cities would not have to apply individually for community development block grants (CDBG) or grants from Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME).
If the cities get federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approval, they would become an entitlement area and thereby become eligible for up to $5 million in annual grants.
“Initially, when I was trying to come up with a plan that would help some of the cities develop more affordable housing, I looked at it just for Newport and Covington,” said Brighton Center executive director Bob Brewster, who is chairman of Southbank Partners' urban living focus committee.
“I learned that a number of other cities were interested in the same thing,” Mr. Brewster said. “Eventually I presented the idea to Southbank Partners, and it developed from there.”
If the cities agree, a letter of intent to form the entitlement area must be sent to HUD by March 1. Mr. Brewster said the rest of the paperwork must be delivered to HUD by the end of May.
“It appears the river cities are ready to work together,” Mr. Brewster said. “The timing seems excellent now.”
Newport City Commission er Ken Rechtin had indicated that the plan looked good on the surface but needed study before the cities committed fully.
He said he was concerned that Covington might lose money by being part of the entitlement group rather than drawing funds alone.
Mr. Brewster said gaining entitlement status would prevent the cities from individually seeking CDBG money for specific projects that have been used as seed money for major projects attracting outside developers.
But he said estimates gained from studies Brighton Center has done of the entitlement issue indicates that the other four cities would share more than $2 million annually, in addition to the $2.5 million Covington now gets.
Bellevue Mayor Tom Weithorn voiced the opinion of other government officials that having a portion of a large annual grant would be preferred to seeking smaller individual grants. Mr. Weithorn said cities like Bellevue, Dayton and Ludlow only land about one in five of the grants they apply for.
“If our river cities can be healthy, vibrant communities, it makes all of Northern Kentucky better,” Mr. Brewster said. “We have headquarters for Fortune 500 companies in Newport and Covington. No one could have imagined that just 15 years ago.”
“In studying the entitle ment issue, the thing I see is cities missing the capital to make things happen,” he said. “This effort will provide that capital.”
Newport City Manager Phil Ciafardini has emphasized that the top priority for the city is to revitalize the neighborhoods and provide affordable housing for its citizens.
Mr. Brewster, who directs the largest private social service agency in Northern Kentucky, pointed out that “affordable housing is the top priority of low- and middle-income people. I see this as an opportunity to help families. We don't want people to move away, but to stay here and be strong, tax-paying citizens who help the area grow.”
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