The City of Bellevue was recently informed by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Labor Standards that the City of Bellevue’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program has an effective management system in place for administering and enforcing Federal Labor Standards on HUD funded or assisted construction work. This determination came as a result from a recent monitoring visit conducted by HUD’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcements (OLSE) Regional Supervisor, Ms. Fannie Woods, who found no findings of deficiencies in the City’s CDBG program.
This program is administered for the City of Bellevue by CDBG & Contract Management Specialist Abby Highland. As an Entitlement City in the State of Nebraska, Bellevue receives funding on a yearly basis from HUD to be used to develop viable communities by providing decent housing, a suitable living environment, and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons.
Ms. Woods made it a point in her Monitoring Results letter to commend Ms. Highland and the City’s CDBG Program for, “an excellent job of developing and implementing written procedures and continuity documents for performing the functions of a Federal Labor Standards Compliance Officer.” Bellevue City Administrator Dan Berlowitz was very pleased to receive this reporting letter, “We realize how important the CDBG program is to building our community, and we are proud that Abby Highland has been recognized for the outstanding work she has done to grow and implement this program.”
Currently, the City is working on projects approved in the 2014 CDBG Action Plan which included funding for a splash pad at Hastings Banner Park and a Business Loan Improvement program. The splash pad project is already underway with completion expected by the end of this year. Ms Highland considers this, “a project that will benefit the area and showcase what CDBG funding can do for the community.” The City will be opening the Business Loan Improvement Program for applications from eligible businesses who are interested in affordable, non-conventional financing to promote employment opportunities for low and moderate income persons in Bellevue.
For more information on the City of Bellevue’s CDBG Program, please contact Abby Highland at 402-293-6596 or by email at abby.highland@bellevue.net and we encourage you to view the monitoring visit letter which is attached below.