Potter County has been awarded federal funds this year under the decades-old Community Development Block Grant program. Next in a series of public hearings on the 2023 CDBG distribution plan will be held at 10:30 am on Thursday, Sept. 7, in the F. W. Gunzburger County Office Building auditorium.

Potter County Commissioners Nancy Grupp, Barry Hayman and Paul Heimel will decide how the funds will be expended, based on qualifying criteria provided by the Pa. Dept. of Community and Economic Development. In recent years, bulk of the funds have been awarded to boroughs or townships seeking financial help for large-scale water or sewage treatment projects. To be eligible, projects must meet one or more of three objectives: benefit low- and moderate-income persons; prevent or eliminate slums or blight; and/or alleviate immediate threats to health and safety.

The commissioners maintain a three-year community development plan to assist them in decisions for each year’s allocations. This year’s blueprint calls for grants of $182,000 to Austin Borough to upgrade its water treatment plant and acquire and install a back-up power generator. Following the Sept. 7 hearing, the county will prepare its final grant application which must be submitted to DCED no later than Oct. 27.