USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner traveled to Hatch, New Mexico to present the keys of a new street sweeper to the community. The new piece of equipment was funded through two USDA RD grants.
During the presentation ceremony Brunner said, “For the most part basic services such as keeping the streets clean are taken for granted. However, I commend the Village of Hatch administration for successfully applying for the funds to purchase this new street sweeper.” Brunner added, “It tells me that you the citizens of Hatch take pride on how your community looks by keeping the streets clean.”
The new piece of equipment was badly needed because the four person Village of Hatch utility staff took turns to sweep and clean the main streets by using brooms and shovels. By purchasing the new street sweeper the job can now be completed in a matter of hours allowing staff to work on other utility related work projects.
The purchase of the street sweeper was made available through two grants totaling $100,350. The funding administered by USDA Rural Development came from a $50,000 Community Facility (CF) Direct grant and a $50,350 Economic Impact Initiative (EII) Grant programs.
These financial programs were created to assist in the development of essential community facilities and equipment in rural areas and towns of less than 20,000 in population. The CF program funds may also be used to construct, enlarge, or improve community facilities for health care, public safety, and public services.
By law these grants can only made to public entities such as municipalities, counties, and special-purpose districts, as well as non-profit corporations and tribal governments.
For additional information on RD projects, please visit Rural Development’s new interactive web map featuring program funding and success stories for fiscal years 2009-2012. The data can be found at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/RDSuccessStories.html.