With the unemployment rate at 11.5% in DeKalb County, creating jobs immediately is imperative. Congressman Bart Gordon announced that the Smithville Housing Authority has been awarded a $355,594 grant for the express purpose of modernizing public housing units and in turn creating construction jobs.
“When we passed the Economic Recovery package in February, we designed it to create jobs in the short term,” said Congressman Gordon. “This grant will do that – the Smithville Housing Authority is required to give priority to projects that are ‘ready to begin construction rapidly’.”
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded the grant to the Smithville Housing Authority through the Public Housing Capital Fund – a HUD program that provides annual funding to public housing authorities to develop, finance, and modernize public housing facilities. The Public Housing Capital Fund received additional grant money when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed into law on February 17, 2009, which enabled it to provide the Smithville Housing Authority with the $355,594 grant.
“This grant will not only create jobs in Smithville area,” added Gordon, “it will also help keep the energy bills of public housing residents as low as possible.”
In allocating the HUD grant, the Smithville Housing Authority is required to prioritize ready-to-go projects and give special consideration to projects that will increase energy efficiency and lower the long term operating costs of public housing facilities.
For more information on the HUD grant, contact the Smithville Housing Authority at (931) 684-1341
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