On behalf of the Westwood Community Center, the county has twice applied for state grant funding through the CBGB program. The funds were to be used to provide improvements to the Community Center including the purchase of a generator to enable to center to be used as a cooling and heating center during extreme conditions and emergencies.
Grace Poor of the county housing and grants department said due to federal amendments to grant stipulations the state changed the requirements needed in the grant application. This change resulted in the application being denied because the funding would not cover the full cost of the project.
Poor explained with the recent grant denial the county would have to restart the application process to secure funds to improve the center. This would however include more public hearings, and open the opportunity for other entities to compete for the funds.
As the need is great for the Westwood community, the county may be able to explore additional funding sources to secure funds for improvements for the community center.
