BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- County officials have signed off on a contract to receive Community Development Block Grant funds totaling $615,000 for 2024.

County legislators signed off on the contract and corresponding budget modification during the Feb. 5 full board meeting.

The New. York State Office of Community Renewal (OCR) awarded $615,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to St. Lawrence County to continue funding for the Countywide Housing Rehabilitation Program (CHRP 5), officials say.

The funds will be used to provide housing rehabilitation assistance to 12 eligible, income-qualified households in communities across the county.

Officials say in the last 42 years, 660 low to middle income households in 24 municipalities across the county have been assisted to the tune of $13.7 million combined.

Those funds from the CDBG for housing rehabilitation have helped residences meet building code requirements and have increased the quality of housing in the country, officials say.

In other action, legislators also approved signing a Federal Equitable Sharing Program Agreement and Annual Certification Report.

The U.S. Department of Justice requires the county District Attorney's Office to file an annual Federal Equitable Sharing Program Agreement and Certification Report to be eligible to submit requests for federally forfeited property or proceeds.

According to St. Lawrence County District Attorney Gary Pasqua, the funds are part of a recurring program that is awarded every January and February.

Pasqua previously said he applies every year through an electronic program, giving the county access to the seized assets.

“Whenever federal law enforcement agencies seize any money in a federal investigation in St. Lawrence County, my office has any nexus to that. They share that with my office, as well as local law enforcement agencies,” Pasqua previously told legislators.

The funds, which are seized by agencies like Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), come from busts that occur within the county throughout the calendar year, Pasqua previously said.

Legislators and the chairman of the legislature work in conjunction with Pasqua to keep track of the funds and to ensure the application is submitted and approved on time to ensure the flow of funds, he previously said.

“The chairman has to sign off every year. This resolution needs to be done so that when I go and fill out that paperwork before March 31 we can say we’ve met as a group,” Pasqua previously said.