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Welcome to the quarterly newsletter of USDA Rural Development in Oregon. Here, you will find updates on funding opportunities and program activities through our Business and Cooperative, Community Facility, Multi-Family and Single-Family Housing programs.
The City of Myrtle Point in rural
southwestern Oregon celebrated Earth Day this month with a groundbreaking
ceremony for the new Myrtle Point wastewater treatment plant and the
announcement of more than $3.9 million in USDA funding to complete
construction. This project will improve water quality in the South Fork
Coquille River and for the local community while also allowing the city to meet
its growing needs. Click
here to read more…
When
the devastating Christmas flood of 1964 swept away her house and destroyed many
others across the Pacific Northwest, Marilyn Wagner purchased a new home at a
higher elevation on the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs reservation in
central Oregon.
After
half a century raising her children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren
in that same yellow house, Marilyn’s limited budget could no longer keep pace
with the home’s growing maintenance and repair needs. Marilyn approached Warms
Springs Tribal Credit Enterprise in the hopes of securing a loan to cover the
cost of her home’s badly needed repairs, and was delighted when they informed
her that she could qualify for a grant from USDA Rural Development. Marilyn
received a $6,846 grant through the Section
504 Home Repair Program. With it,
she was able to replace her kitchen plumbing, tile ceiling, entry door,
bathroom flooring, and even purchase a new up-to-code woodstove chimney. The
repairs were completed just as Marilyn made the final payment on her home. Click here to read
more…
Sessions
will be offered on multiple dates and in various locations across Oregon and
Washington State:
Wednesday, May 6: Skagit
Valley/Bow, WA, at the Skagit Ridge Hotel
Click here to register (Skagit
Valley/Bow workshop only).
Thursday, May 7: Olympia,
WA, at Evergreen State College
Click here to register (Olympia
workshop only).
Friday, May 8: Port Angeles,
WA, at the Peninsula College Longhouse
Click here to register (Port
Angeles workshop only).
Wednesday, May 27: Warm
Springs, OR, at the Tribal Credit Conference Room
Click here to register (Warm
Springs workshop only).
Presented
by:
- Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior
- Office of Native American Programs, Office of Housing
and Urban Development
- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
- Rural Development, United States Department of
Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
There
is no charge for the workshops, and they include a continental breakfast and
lunch. Join us to discuss how we can increase opportunities
for homeownership on Indian reservations. Click here to read
more…
Oregon Welcomes New Member to Business and
Cooperative Programs
Josuee
Hernandez (first name pronounced HO-su-eh) recently joined USDA Rural Development as the newest member of the Business
and Cooperative Programs team. Josuee will serve as a Business and Cooperative
Programs Technician, a critical role in the administration and delivery Rural
Development’s Business, Cooperative, and Energy programs. Josuee is an
Oregon native who served five years in the U.S. Marine Corp, received his
undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, and his graduate degree from
Portland State University. He will be based in the Portland State Office
and can be reached directly at josuee.hernandez@or.usda.gov
or (503) 414-3395.
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Featured Staff Member
Holly
Halligan (formerly Holly Fellows) joined USDA Rural Development in June 2010
through the Student Temporary Employment Program. She came to us with three years of
summer experience as a Planning Technician and an Interim Assistant Planner
with organizations in California. She had also worked briefly as a researcher at
the Benton County Health Department. Holly has an undergraduate degree in
city and regional planning from California Polytechnic State University, and
she earned a Masters of Public Policy at Oregon State University in 2011.
Since
that time, she has done exceptional work as an Area Technician and,
subsequently, as a Loan Officer, splitting her time between our Business and
Cooperative Programs and our Community Programs.
Holly
was recently selected for a new position as a Community Programs Loan
Specialist in the Tangent, Oregon office. She will be primarily
responsible for serving Lincoln, Polk, Benton, Linn, and Lane counties, working
closely with seasoned specialists in the State Office in Portland. We are excited to be
able to utilize Holly’s many talents while providing her with a fulfilling career at USDA Rural Development.
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The
rental housing property management staff for USDA Rural Development’s Section
515 and Section 514 programs guarantee the success of our rental complexes. They make
sure that day-to-day operations go smoothly and help to ensure a quality living environment for the residents. Often they invest a great deal
of their own free time in providing tenants with a safe and cohesive community.
They
deserve recognition for their outstanding work. For this reason, we are
sponsoring a program to recognize the best Rural Development site staff in
Oregon. New this year, we will not only recognize a site manager for each
property type (family, elder/disabled, and farm labor), we will also recognize
a maintenance person in each category.
The deadline to
submit nominations has been extended. They must be received by the USDA Rural
Development State Office no later than 4:00
p.m. on Friday, May 1, 2015. Click
here to learn more, and download
a nomination form here.
The Rural Energy for
America Program (REAP) Guaranteed Loans and Grants is a national
program with more than $200 million in funding available this fiscal year
(through September 30, 2015). Eligible projects include renewable energy
systems, such as solar, biomass, and wind, as well as energy efficiency
improvements, including building and industrial projects. Eligible
borrowers include rural small businesses and agricultural producers (agricultural
producers are exempt from the rural area location requirement). We are
currently accepting applications. If you have questions or would like to
discuss a potential project, contact John Holman, Energy Coordinator, at (503)
414-3369 or john.holman@or.usda.gov.
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ComCap:OR
is the first statewide summit on investing in our own communities. Join Oregonians
looking to leverage a new law that allows all of us to invest in the places we
live and love, helping to strengthen every region in Oregon. Hatch Innovation
will host this summit to create the statewide ecosystem for success in this new
realm of securities crowdfunding.
A special note for those who reside in rural areas of Oregon:
You may be eligible for a scholarship to attend ComCap:OR! Click here for details and to apply.
LOCATIONS:
Monday, May 4th — Kick-off reception
with Governor Kate Brown from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Hatch Lab, 2420
NE Sandy Blvd, Portland, Oregon
Tuesday, May 5th — Full
day conference, closing reception, and activities from 8:00
am to 9:00 pm
Ambridge Event Center, 1333 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland, Oregon
Click
here for more information…
Long-term
USDA partner Community And Shelter Assistance Corporation (CASA) of Oregon was
recently awarded the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s (NCRC) Representative
James Leach Award. The award recognizes the most outstanding rural nonprofit
organization that best promotes fair and equal access to credit and capital
and/or contributes the most in its community toward promoting wealth building
in traditionally underserved populations. Click
here to read more…
USDA
Rural Development has launched a new website to enhance program accessibility
and customer service.
The
new website features quicker and more intuitive access to all of Rural
Development’s 42 programs, simplified site navigation, and more user-friendly
functionality. The site also provides easily accessible resources for loan and
grant applications, eligibility information, and program descriptions. We are
working to ensure the URLs you use are redirected to the new and improved
website. If you are unable to locate the information you need, please feel free to
contact our Oregon staff for assistance.
Browse
our new website today at www.rd.usda.gov,
and navigate to Oregon-specific information from any page by selecting the
state name from the drop-down menu in the top right corner.
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Approximately
$350,000
is expected to be made available in Oregon, and $4 million nationwide for
Native American applications, under the Rural
Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. Congress
established the RBDG program under the 2014 Farm Bill. The new program combines
USDA’s former Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) and Rural Business
Opportunity Grant (RBOG) programs. The new program, like its predecessors,
is designed to assist with the startup or expansion of small and emerging
private businesses and/or nonprofits in rural communities.
Complete
applications for a regular award must be received by the USDA Rural
Development State Office no later than
4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 1, 2015. Click
here to learn more. Complete Native American RBDG applications must be
received by the USDA Rural Development State Office no later than 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2015. Click
here for additional information.
If
you are planning to submit an application in Oregon, we encourage you to
contact a local Business and Cooperative Program Specialist or the State Office for more details about the application
requirements and process.
USDA
Rural Development is soliciting pre-applications for the Farm Labor Housing Direct Loans and Grants Program. Approximately $22 million in loans and $6 million in
grants is expected to be made available nationwide in fiscal year 2015. In
Oregon, complete pre-applications must be received by the USDA Rural
Development State Office no later than 5:00 p.m. on June 23, 2015.
Click
here to learn more…
USDA
Rural Development in Oregon is streamlining processes to provide more
efficient, timely services for our customers. As part of our efforts, Rural
Development’s Multi-Family Housing programs in Oregon has launched an
electronic mailbox for new requests and inquiries. Please
send all new submissions and inquiries to rd.mfh.oregon@or.usda.gov. Use this mailbox for initial requests for information,
initial applications, initial construction documents, Capital Needs Assessments
(CNAs), prepayment requests, junior lien requests, subordinations, partial
releases, ownership changes, and non-routine servicing activity.
Those who have already been assigned to a specific contact should
continue to communicate with that staff member directly.
USDA
Rural Development has awarded a $47,900 grant to the Siletz Rural Fire
Protection District. The funding, provided through the Community
Facilities Direct Loan and Grant Program, will be used to build a custom
water tender truck using a donated chassis acquired by the District. The new
tender truck will hold 3,000 gallons of water and will replace the current
tender, which no longer meets the needs of the District and is unsafe to
operate. The tender will be used to deliver water to the site of a fire when the
water pressure in the hydrant is inadequate.
 The income limits for Multi-Family Housing program applicants were recently updated. Click here to view the revised income limits. (Multi-Family Housing income limits are identical to those for the Single Family Housing programs.)
Property managers and borrowers can now sign up for electronic rental assistance payments. Contact your servicing specialist to set up an electronic payment today.
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Maintaining
the infrastructure necessary to enable rural communities to grow and thrive can
be a significant challenge, especially for those communities with a median household
income below the poverty line. USDA Rural Development’s Special Evaluation
Assistance for Rural Communities and Households (SEARCH) program can help small,
financially distressed rural communities start the planning process for water
and waste disposal projects.
The Pacific City Joint Water-Sanitary Authority in southern Tillamook
County, for instance, owns and operates a wastewater treatment plant that serves approximately
1,000 full-time residents in the communities of Pacific City and Woods. The
plant, however, can no longer meet demand, resulting in occasional discharges
into the Nestucca River. In May 2014, USDA Rural Development awarded a $30,000 SEARCH
grant to help the Authority develop an environmental review and preliminary
engineering report for proposed improvements to the plant. With the initial
planning process nearing completion, the Authority will soon be ready to apply
for funding and begin construction, helping this small, rural community thrive
into the future.
The
City of Eagle Point in Jackson County and the Shoreline Sanitary District in
Clatsop County have been approved for funding under the USDA Water and
Waste Disposal Loan and Grant Program.
The
Shoreline Sanitary District received a $1.1 million loan and a $702,500 grant
from USDA in 2013. A new $214,360 grant will enable the district to complete
their wastewater system improvement project, allowing them to transfer their
wastewater to the City of Warrenton for treatment and retire their current
facility, which was originally constructed in 1969 and can no longer meet their
needs.
The
City of Eagle Point will receive a $2.8 million loan to increase the storage
capacity of their water distribution system, provide an adequate water supply
for emergency fire needs, and position the city for future growth.
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