Lorain County accepts $1.6 million in housing funds and hires consultant to pursue HUD urban-county status

Lorain County commissioners on March 13 voted to accept $1.6 million in Community Development funds from the Ohio Department of Development and approved a $51,500 contract with Catus Consulting LLC to prepare the consolidated plan and HUD application required for the county to pursue ‘‘urban county’’ status.

The funding award includes $878,000 allocated to the Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) and $722,000 for community development (CDBG/CHIP) programs, county officials said during the meeting. The county described the programs as targeted to low- and moderate-income homeowners and for larger rehabilitation projects to bring units up to code.

County leaders and staff said qualifying as a HUD urban county would allow Lorain County to receive certain federal entitlement dollars directly from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rather than routing them through the state, potentially increasing local control and resources for housing, meals-on-wheels and other community programs. Staff said the consolidated plan process will include public hearings and a five-year plan submitted to HUD.

Commissioners said the selection of Catus Consulting followed a competitive process with 10 proposals; staff emphasized selection criteria included qualifications, references and responsiveness in addition to price. The board moved and approved both the acceptance of the grant funds and the consultant contract during the consent and business portions of the meeting.

What happens next: county staff will hold public outreach and prepare the consolidated plan and related HUD application materials; the county indicated the process could position it for substantially larger direct HUD allocations in future program years.