LEWISTOWN — Applications for Community Development Block Grant funding in Mifflin County will open Monday, according to a project coordinator who provided an update to county planners this week.

Carol High, representing SEDA-Council of Governments, told the Mifflin County Planning Commission on Wednesday that the county expects to receive about $222,625 in federal fiscal year 2026 CDBG funding.

High also updated planners on several CDBG-funded projects from previous years that are still underway.

The Community Development Block Grant program is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and provides funding to municipalities for community improvement projects.

In Mifflin County, five municipalities qualify as CDBG entitlement communities because their populations exceed 4,000. Those municipalities — the borough of Lewistown and Armagh, Brown, Derry and Granville townships — receive their own allocations of funding.

Mifflin County also receives CDBG funding that can be used for eligible projects in the county’s remaining boroughs and townships.

County officials will accept formal proposals for eligible projects from March 30 through May 22, 2026, High said. Entitlement municipalities establish their own deadlines for project proposals.

To qualify for funding, projects must meet at least one of the program’s three objectives. Projects must primarily benefit low- to moderate-income residents, help prevent or eliminate slum or blight conditions, or address urgent community development needs such as those caused by natural disasters or other emergencies.

High said Pennsylvania receives CDBG funds from HUD each year, with about 3 percent used for state administration, 85 percent distributed to entitlement municipalities, and up to 12 percent reserved for a competitive grant program.

Current projects funded through Community Development Block Grants include:

ARMAGH TOWNSHIP

The Armagh Township Public Walking Trail Improvements, which consists of a .59 mile public trail that loops around the Armagh Township municipal building complex in Milroy. It is currently considered not safe for senior citizens to use. Plans include reconstruction of the existing trail with a smooth stable durable surface compared to the gravel they currently have in place. Trail intersections with transition deficiencies will be corrected and connector paths to existing benches will be installed;

The Milroy South Main Street Ramps/Curb Cuts consists of pedestrian access from a residential area to the U.S. Post Office in Milroy. The current curb ramps in place do not meet specifications and are in poor condition. The project removes the architectural barriers while reconstructing three intersections and installing six curb ramps;

Barefoot Road Reconstruction repairs a deteriorated road. The project involves dry-grinding and grading the existing road, then applying new binding and wearing layers to create a new road with a lifespan of at least 20 years.

High says Armagh Townships top priorities for the fiscal years of 2026, 2027 and 2028 are infrastructure improvements for water, sanitary sewer, stormwater and road system projects.

BROWN TOWNSHIP

Walnut Street Sidewalk Project Phase 3 includes repairs to Main Street, Logan Street and Walnut Street. The sidewalks along Walnut are unsafe due to cracking and uneven heights. This third phase completes this project;

Reedsville Park Improvements at 124 Honey Creek Road includes a second accessible public pavilion;

The Reedsville Park Pavillion creates a parking lot across from the park in a vacant grass lot owned by the Township and already used to park the overflow of vehicles but they plan to use the funds to create a paved durable area to park.

High says Brown Township’s top priorities for the years of 2026, 2027 and 2028 are projects relating to public sewer, public water, road reconstruction, flood mitigation and single family housing rehabilitation.

DERRY TOWNSHIP

Yeagertown Area Road Reconstruction Phase 1 addresses the entire lengths of First, Second and Third streets from Main Street to Greenwood Avenue as well as Fourth Street from North Main Street to North Locke Avenue;

Mifflin County Housing Authority Scattered Sites Roof Replacement is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development improves deficiencies therefore receiving CDBG assistance for roof replacement had been income qualified by the Authority.

Phase Two of the Yeagertown Area Road Reconstruction includes entire lengths of Greenwood Avenue and Mann Avenue.

For the fiscal years of 2026, 2027 and 2028 Derry’s top priorities include projects related to road improvements, stormwater systems and improvements to nongovernmental community facilities and services.

GRANVILLE TOWNSHIP

The Single Family Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Project consists of several areas in Granville were identified as locations of housing stock in need of rehabilitation including Hawstone, Klondyke and Lewistown Junction.High says that 10 percent of these homes were built prior to 1940 and Granville’s aging housing stock may require significant investments to bring homes up to code, modernizing interior and improve energy efficiency. Granville Township will provide technical and financial resources to bring owner and rental properties up to code and to make existing housing accessible. Lead based paint control must be considered in these older structures during housing rehabilitation.

Their priorities for the next three years in addition to housing rehabilitation supervisors have prioritized fire protection services for CDB funding of the fire safety equipment procurement.

LEWISTOWN BOROUGH

Phase One and Phase Two of the Lewistown Fire Department Safety Equipment Includes the procurement of new self-contained breathing apparatus units to replace units that are near the end of their useful life. Phase one used funds from 2023 and 2024 while 2025 CDBG funds were awarded to Lewistown Borough for additional fire safety equipment for the Lewistown Fire Department known as Phase 2.

For 2026, 2027 and 2028, the Lewistown Borough Council and Borough manager have prioritized fire protection services for CDBG funding of fire safety equipment procurement as well as road reconstruction projects.

The remaining five boroughs and six townships are labeled as “Mifflin County’s non-entilement municipalities,” but they may propose projects through the county’s entitlement grant contracts.

There are currently five active projects:

Juniata Terrace Fire Hydrant System Improvements installs 1,200 linear feet of new 8-inch water main and five new fire hydrants to integrate with the existing lines and hydrants;

Lockport Stormwater Improvements address collapsing and undersized metal pipes and stormwater inlets. Approximately seven new concrete inlets will be placed as needed to collect stormwater runoff and 900 feet of new corrugated piping will be installed as needed to connect inlets to each other and then to an outflow lined with rip-rap material to prevent future erosion;

Wayne Township’s Water Meter Replacement project installs new water meter pits in the public-right-of-way where none currently exist in a residential area generally known as the former Methodist campground and the Shaverville Circle. All 84 water meters will be replaced with walk-by meter reading system equipment to facilitate faster and more accurate meter reading by the Wayne Township Water Authority. The new water meter system will have a useful life of at least 15 years.

Mifflin County Youth Park Restroom improvements and the Juniata Terrace Water Main River Crossing Project improves men’s and women’s restrooms inside the Mifflin County Youth Park’s main exhibition hall (the Green Building) which do not meet current accessibility standards. This project includes widening existing doorways, passageways and restroom stalls, and installing grab bars, accessible sinks and non-slip flooring. The existing sole water main for Juniata Terrace is suspended underneath the 5-span Veterans Memorial Bridge next to a gas main, which makes repairs and maintenance efforts difficult and dangerous. The project scope is one portion of a project to build a new water main from West Fourth Street in Lewistown along Rosewood Avenue, under the Juniata River, along the Trinity Plastics property, and connect to the newly installed water main at Roundhouse Road.

Mifflin County and SEDA-COG will hold a CDBG Program workshop and first public

hearing on Tuesday, April 14, beginning at 4:30 in the Mifflin County Courthouse Annex Building where Carol High, SEDA-COG Program Analyst/Project Coordinator, and Mifflin County Grants

Liaison Madison Price will discuss the guidelines for CDBG program funding, review the

formal application process and show Mifflin county residents how to complete a project proposal to submit to the commissioners for consideration.