County committee approves $625,288 in Lake County Affordable Housing Program awards
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Summary
The Health and Community Services Committee approved $625,288 in local Affordable Housing Program funding and a $5,538 emergency appropriation, with staff highlighting AHP’s flexibility for projects that serve up to 100% AMI and to avoid federal Davis‑Bacon constraints for volunteer‑led builds.
The Lake County Health and Community Services Committee approved $625,288 in funding recommendations through the Lake County Affordable Housing Program (AHP) and an emergency appropriation of $5,538, county staff said during the meeting.
Community Development Administrator Dominic Strezo said AHP is the county’s flexible local funding source and can serve households up to 100% of area median income (AMI), making it useful for home‑ownership programs and projects in higher‑cost communities. “When we select these projects for funding, we really wanted to look for applications that benefit from that flexibility that comes from a local funding source,” Strezo said.
Strezo noted that using local AHP dollars can avoid certain federal administrative requirements — including Davis‑Bacon payroll reporting — that can hinder volunteer‑driven models such as Habitat for Humanity. He also said that preserving CDBG public‑service dollars for many local nonprofits is a consideration: a single $80,000 public‑service award to the Lake County Housing Authority would consume a substantial portion of the CDBG public‑service cap.
The committee approved the AHP funding by voice vote. Strezo and committee members described the awards as meant to support homeownership programs (down‑payment assistance and community land trust work), permanent supportive housing and other local projects that need flexible funding.