Acting Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga and key ASG agencies for disaster response and recovery met recently with senior officials from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development headquarters in Washington, DC.
A press release from the Department of Commerce says the HUD delegation was very pleased with the information they learned and received during their brief visit to the territory.
In a debrief meeting after one-on-one meetings with ASG agencies and an island tour of sites impacted by
Tropical Storm Gita, Acting Governor Lemanu, who was also the Governor’s Authorized Representative, had the opportunity to discuss with HUD officials about next steps for American Samoa to successfully implement its forthcoming Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds.
These next steps include preparation by the Department of Commerce (DOC) as ASG’s CDBG-DR administering agency.
DOC has been the administering agency for regular CDBG funds for many years.
DOC Director Keniseli Lafaele and his CDBG program team will focus on next steps to establish policies and procedures, staff capacity building and collaborate with other local agencies to finalize projects for CDBG-DR funding.
CDBG-DR funds will focus on four significant unmet needs areas – housing, economic revitalization, infrastructure and mitigation.
Approximately $205 million in CDBG-DR funds were recently allocated by HUD for American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands after a “comprehensive analysis of the recovery needs” in both territories.
These funds are part of a larger congressional earmark signed by President Trump, Public Law 115-254, which provides $1.68 billion in CDBG-DR funds to presidential disaster declared states and territories in 2018.
Photo: (left to right) Mark Chandler, HUD Honolulu Field Office Community Planning and Development Programs Director; Acting Governor Lemanu P. Mauga; HUD Associate Deputy Secretary Janet Golrick; HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Grant Programs Stanley Gimont; and, HUD General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research Todd Richardson.
