A July 14 letter from Gov. Charlie Baker informed Oak Bluffs and Tisbury town officials that they had been jointly awarded a $805,694 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for FY15 “to be used to carry out approved community development activities in your CDBG target area.”
Oak Bluffs Town Administrator Robert Whritenour said the money would boost the town’s affordable-housing efforts.
“Having these funds for the low-interest loans that support Islanders staying in their homes, and take care of critical improvements, I think are some of the most valuable services that we do,” he told The Times. “We’re wholly dependent on CDBG funds, and it’s a tough process to keep it rolling, and we’ve done that. Our grant writer, Alice Boyd, is a tremendous asset to our community.”
The Resource Inc.,TRI, allocates the CDGB funds to Islanders who are too stretched by their mortgage and property taxes to make needed improvements, and who don’t qualify for a bank loan or refinancing. TRI offers qualified applicants a 15-year, no-interest, forgivable loan, worth up to $35,000, for moderate restoration projects.
