Covington residents sounded off this week on how the city should spend its roughly $5.4 million in federal grant money.
Several key themes stood out: affordable housing, maintaining infrastructure for existing families, green space and housing equity.
The comments took place at the meeting of the Covington Board of Commissioners Tuesday night as part of a legally mandated hearing for two federal grant programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD: the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, program and the HOME program.
Covington serves as a regional entitlement city, meaning it automatically gets a certain amount of federal money from the programs every year.
Pam Mullins, a former Covington commissioner, school board member and current member of the Covington Human Rights Commission, said the draft plan for the spending gives the city a blueprint to get it right.
“Getting it right means protecting and uplifting legacy homeowners who have cared for their properties through red-lining, disinvestment and rising costs,” Mullins said.
CDBG has the larger allocation of the two programs, $1,409,780, according to the city. It can be used to fund home repairs, street infrastructure, park improvements, literacy programs, economic development initiatives and other programs that benefit the city as a whole.
The second program, HOME, is more narrowly focused on housing. Most notably, the HOME dollars go toward an inter-city consortium that offers housing down payment assistance in the form of forgivable loans for residents in the following cities: Covington, Ludlow, Newport, Bellevue, Dayton, Erlanger, Florence and Independence. The federal government has allocated $672,734.30 for the HOME program.
Combined with unused funds carried over from last fiscal year, said Covington’s CDBG & HOME Manager John Hammons, that gives the city just over $5 million in federal money to work with.
Mullins went on to say the city could get the most out of its federal dollars by “creating pathways to home ownership for young, Black and Hispanic residents so that the next generation can plant roots where their families have long stood.”
Mullins submitted a document to the commissioners outlining the problems she observed among the city’s Black and Hispanic neighborhoods in more detail, namely low home ownership rates, a high percentage of housing cost burdens, substandard living conditions, limited access to affordable units and historic disinvestment arising from inequitable housing policies.
She recommended “coordinating city investments, block by block: sidewalks, code enforcement, public safety and housing rehab all together so our infrastructure reflects our dignity.”
The city had already been engaged in public feedback sessions in the weeks and months leading up to the hearing through online surveys and public meetings with residents. Hammons said on Tuesday that residents had already called for more affordable housing (especially rentals), property rehabilitation, general infrastructure improvements and more recreation opportunities.
Another resident, Samuel Phillips, who’s frequently spoken at commission meetings, spoke on similar themes as Mullins and other residents.
“It would be beautiful to see less developments and more safe green ways across town,” Phillips said, “and invested in restructuring roads in favor of the pedestrian, rather than automobiles.”
He also suggested consulting former residents of the public housing project City Heights, the land for which recently went up for sale, to provide “a great voice in how we can be successful to keep these properties affordable for young families,” as well as rehabbing the Duveneck Arts and Cultural Center.
Residents who missed Tuesday’s meeting can still leave feedback for the city until July 10 by contacting Covington’s Federal Grants Manager Jeremy Wallace at jwallace@covingtonky.gov or at (859) 292-2147.
“The input we receive from the community is what turns data into action, making sure our plans meet real, everyday needs,” Hammons said.
Spending plans for the programs are updated annually and every five years. You can read a draft of the most recent annual plan below.