SEAGO explains colonias, State Special Projects as routes to ready Huachuca City projects

During the hearing SEAGO staff described how colonia designation and State Special Projects (SSP) can affect competitiveness for CDBG funding. Colonias must meet objective criteria — including pre‑1991 settlement, lack of potable water or sewer and substandard housing — and SSP is a statewide pot of money (up to roughly $700,000–$750,000) made available from funds returned to the state when prior projects do not proceed.

William Osborne told the council that colonia projects are limited to water, wastewater, stormwater and housing rehabilitation and must be shovel‑ready (designs and environmental reviews completed) to score well. He recommended that the town consider an SSP application for up‑front engineering to make larger infrastructure projects construction‑ready in future CDBG cycles.