Governor Kay Ivey has awarded $750,000 to help the city of Auburn recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The award is part of more than $40 million allocated to Alabama under a special Community Development Block Grant program funded from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Ivey will announce additional grants to other Alabama cities and counties as applications are processed. The grant funds are required to be expended on projects relating to the recovery from or preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus or any future infectious diseases.
“East Alabama and the Auburn area were among the earliest hit by the COVID-19 outbreak and like all of Alabama, the pandemic took its toll,” Ivey said. “I am pleased to award these funds to help the city continue its recovery as its people bounce back as strong as ever.”
Auburn will use the funds to provide rental and utility assistance and food distribution, including purchasing equipment to help in the distribution process. Additionally, the city will aid two daycare centers, an after-school program and a senior citizen center to ensure that the neediest residents are being served.
The funds were made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and can be used to support COVID-19 testing and vaccinations; rental, mortgage and utility assistance; assistance to food banks and pantries; job creation and business assistance and related projects to provide pandemic relief.
Alabama counties and entitlement communities receiving the CDBG-COVID funds were required to make application with the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
“Alabama counties and municipalities have worked together in a short time to create plans that help residents get past this pandemic and focus on our state’s future,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA joins Gov. Ivey in looking forward to working with these partnerships.”
ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.
