Keener grant gets DCED OK
Published: July 2, 2009
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share thisSHAMOKIN - A $575,000 grant received by the city's now-defunct Redevelopment Authority in 2005 has been officially closed out by the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).
What had delayed the closure was the fact the grant was outstanding because no explanation for the use of the funds had been received by DCED. And an audit received in 2008 was rejected by DCED for several reasons.
The audit detailed the RDA's general operations, and did not include details on the grant, prompting a letter of non-compliance. Also among the reasons was a failure to return interest earned on the grant in the amount of $729, and a lack of signature and date and a lack of any statement of actual expenses paid with the grant money.
The grant in question was targeted for the renovation and purchase of the Keener building, constructed on the site of the former Eagle silk mill. Whenever a grant is issued, the recipient must prove it used the money for the intended purpose.
So, the city had to explain exactly what the money was used for or face the possibility of having to pay the money back. In addition, the RDA was flagged by DCED and would have been unable to receive any grant money from the state.
After city officials received two letters of non-compliance from DCED, one in December and another in April, the city's auditor, Klacik & Associates submitted the correct paperwork to DCED.
The grant money had been used to make a principal payment on a loan for the former Eagle silk mill building, held at Commerce
Bank, Harrisburg.
On June 8, the city received a letter from DCED that read, "all relevant closeout materials have been received for the referenced program contract and found acceptable."
During a May city council meeting, City Solicitor Robert Mattis said Klacik & Associates had all the information needed to complete the audit because the firm completed the RDA audits in 2005 and 2006.
Councilwoman Betsy Richardson questioned why the "program audit" wasn't submitted when it was required of the city, especially since all the information has been available all along. Her question went unanswered.
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