The Town of Winnsboro held a public hearing this past Tuesday on the 2008 CDBG Needs Assessment.
The priorities were based on past planning efforts and citizen and community input.
The priorities are:
Extension and upgrades to the water and sewer systems throughout the Town;
Some of the economic development activities listed are revitalization of downtown Winnsboro with an eye towards making the downtown more economically attractive and viable for new businesses, which would in turn, bring new jobs.
A Rehab of the parking lot in the South 100 block of Congress Street was listed as a priority, but Winnsboro Community development director Betsy Boulware said because the parking lot is privately owned, it would not qualify for any help from the CDBG program.
She expressed the opinion that what it would take for the parking lot rehab would be for all of the individual owners to deed the property over to the Town or consider something like a 99-year lease. Either of those actions would make the parking lot publicly-owned (or leased) and might make the rehab project eligible for CDBG funds.
During the public hearing on the draft needs assessment, a representative from the Midlands Fatherhood Coalition expressed his agency’s concern about transportation. The agency works to reconnect fathers with their families and make them employable and more capable. The Coalition is concerned that there is currently no transportation for these fathers who might seek employment in areas like Blythewood and Columbia.
Robin Cooley with the Central Midlands Council of Government said the underlying theme in any of the CDBG grants that seem to be looked on favorably by the state Department of Commerce (which administers the CDBG program) is “things that relate to economic or workforce development. The (projects that receive grant funding) are the ones that create jobs or help people find jobs and improve their skills,” Cooley said.
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