OC will conduct North Street survey for CDBG application

From staff reports

The City of Oil City intends to include a North Street reconstruction project in the city’s 2019 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application.

To tap those funds, federal guidelines require the city to conduct an income survey for all houses that would directly benefit from the street project.

The income survey will be for the entire length of North Street.

Due to regulations in the grant program, a 100 percent response rate from residents in the proposed paving area is necessary. Unless every household responds, the street project may not be eligible for federal CDBG funding.

The one-page survey will ask questions relating to family size, property ownership and whether residents are above or below a certain household income figure.

The city will not, under any circumstance, ask residents to report their income, said Kelly Amos, director of the city’s community development department.

Survey forms were mailed Feb. 8 to residents. If residents haven’t responded by a Feb. 22 deadline, the city will follow up with phone calls and door-to-door visits to gather information.

All data collected will remain strictly confidential and will be used only for the purposes of grant administration.

Additional information about the survey is available by contacting the city’s Community Development Department at (814) 678-3017.