PLANNING ASSISTANCE GRANTS AWARDED AND NEW FUNDING CYCLE ANNOUNCED

The Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA) recently announced the award of $500,000 in Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) grants to assist 33 Illinois communities. The grants were the first made under the new Planning Assistance Grant Program, which provides a flexible source of funding for a broad range of planning-related activities that contribute toward implementation of an identified capital construction project.

The program has received an enthusiastic response from Illinois local governments. For some time, DCCA has been aware that small communities needed support to develop workable plans that would contribute long-term impact. As a result, the department set-aside $500,000 in CDAP funds and invited communities with unmet planning needs to submit applications. Eighty-eight communities responded, requesting almost $1.7 million in funds.

The Village of Browns in Edwards County, for example, will receive a $25,000 planning grant. Its problems stem from effluent seeping from old septic tanks that rises to the surface and runs in open ditches near homes. A high water table and a floodplain location compound the problem. The Browns planning grant will enable the village of study systems to determine the best and most cost-effective correction for the identified problem.

Meeting accessibility requirements mandated under the Americans with Disabilities Act is also a challenge for many local governments, particularly those with older public buildings. Of the 33 communities receiving planning grants, 10 will secure the services of an architect to undertake planning aimed at determining the best and most cost-effective ways to redesign community properties to achieve compliance with the new federal law.

The Community Development Assistance Program (CDAP) provides grants to communities with populations of 50,000 or fewer that are not located within one of the six urban counties that receive funds directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The program has six components: public facilities and design/engineering, awarded competitively to help communities address threats to public health and safety; housing grants, awarded competitively to upgrade housing; economic development grants, which assist communities in retaining or attracting businesses; emergency public facilities grants, which assists communities faced with problems that result from disasters, such as tornadoes or other emergency situations; removal of architectural barriers to help meet accessibility requirements; and, planning assistance grants.

DCCA will accept applications for the public facilities/design engineering and planning assistance grants on July 1, 1993. Applications must be submitted to DCCA's Springfield office by 5:00 p.m. Housing grant applications are due October 5; removal of architectural barriers grant applications are due December 1. Economic development grant applications and emergency public facilities grant applications are accepted on an as needed basis.

A list of the planning assistance grantees follows.

If you have questions or wish to obtain an application, please contact DCCA's Office of Economic Development Programs at (217) 785-6142.

June 1993 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 29

PLANNING ASSISTANCE GRANTS

Community (County)	Project Summary	Amount
Allendale (Wabash) Alto Pass (Union) Browns (Edwards) Carlyle (Clinton) Carmi (White) Carterville (Williamson) Creston (Ogle) Eddyville (Pope) Edwards County Fairmount (Vermilion) Georgetown (Vermilion) Hildalgo (Jasper) Jasper County Jo Daviess County Lexington (McLean) Macomb (McDonough) Marietta (Fulton) Menard County Milford (Iroquois) Mt. Carmel (Wabash) Newton (Jasper) Oakland (Coles) Olney (Richland) Prairie DuRocher (Randolph) Richland County Royal Lakes (Macoupin) Seneca (LaSalle) Taylorville (Christian) Union County Waltonville (Jefferson) Wayne County Wenonah (Montgomery) White County	Water Study Sewer System Study Sewer System Study Dam Development Study ADA Compliance Plan ADA Compliance Plan Sewer Study Feasible Sewer System ADA Compliance Plan Drainage Study Water Study Sewer Study ADA Compliance Plan Road Improvement Plan Sewer Study Sewer Line Study Sewer Study Water Study Sewer Study ADA Compliance Plan ADA Compliance Plan Water Study ADA Compliance Plan Water Study ADA Compliance Plan Infrastructure Plan Storm Water Study Water Study Sewer System for WARE Sewer System Feasibility ADA Compliance Plan Water Study ADA Compliance Plan TOTAL GRANTS AWARDED	$ 3,500 20,000 25,000 25,000 6,500 10,000 25,000 25,000 12,000 20,000 15,000 12,000 6,000 20,000 19,700 20,000 6,500 12,500 20,000 4,800 6,500 22,000 11,000 20,000 5,500 15,000 20,000 20,000 20,000 15,000 11,500 15,000 10,000 $500,000

Illinois Municipal Treasurers Institute to be Held

The 1993 Illinois Municipal Treasurers Institute will be held September 26-30 at the Mattoon Holiday Inn. This institute provides an opportunity for professional continuing education for municipal treasurers, finance directors and C.P.A.'s. It combines practical, hands-on information with new ideas for professional self-improvement. The institute is a 3 year program which fulfills the education requirements for the Illinois Municipal Treasurers certification. It is sponsored by the Illinois Municipal Treasurers Association and offered by the Eastern Illinois University School of Adult and Continuing Education. (EIU has been approved to offer C.P.A. CPE's.)

The institute is especially helpful for newly elected or appointed treasurers and is also beneficial for experienced treasurers too. The registration fee for the institute is $350 which includes all instruction, materials, and refreshment breaks, 4 lunches, 4 continental breakfasts, and a banquet. The IMTA offers a special incentive for municipal treasurers entering the program. They sponsor $50 of the registration fee for participants who are members of IMTA and are entering the first phase of the institute.

All treasurers are invited to participate, learn, and share experiences and ideas with other municipal treasurers. For more information, call Kaylin Johns at (217) 581-5116.

Page 30 / Illinois Municipal Review / June 1993