HOLYOKE –  A public meeting for an amendment to amend the allocation of the Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) in Holyoke was conducted on Dec. 28.

The meeting was presented by the Public Hearing and Citizens Advisory Committee and consisted of Conor Bevan, director of program development at the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke; Alicia Zoeller from the office of community development; and Nelson Lopez and Kate Kruckemeyer from the Citizens Advisory Committee. The meeting, which took place at 5 p.m., lasted just 21 minutes, and discussed the allocation of the third round of CDBG money distributed to the city by the state and gave residents the chance to voice their opinion regarding the distribution.

Zoeller began the meeting by reading the proposed allocation of the grant which totaled $489,324. The proposed allocation included $10,000 to economic development “to support small business grants”; $341,000 to public services to “support the Board of Health Pandemic response and other food, child care rental assistance and legal services”; and “up to” $45,324 to “support the administration and planning of the CDBG-CV Part II funds.”

Zoeller said the Department of Housing and Urban Development had increased the city’s CDBG allocation “and that additional funds were being handled as a substantial amendment to the FY2019 Annual Plan.” She also said that during the public comment period, no comments from the public had been received. Both Nelson and Kruckemeyer agreed to the proposed grant allocations. The hearing was then opened to questions, comments and discussion from those attending.

Bevan, on behalf of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke, expressed the club’s thankfulness “for the reinvestment of funds into the community” and that the club’s need had increased in recent months. He added that their child care program were serving “up to 90 children per day, primarily for essential workers.”

In addition offering daycare services, Bevan said the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Holyoke was providing learning pods for students, had served 220,000 dinners and had recently started offering a new initiative that would provide a safe drop in space for teens. With the additional CDBG funding, Bevan said the initiative, which has between 40-45 teens at the moment, could be expanded.