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Commission asks manager for CDBG records on Boerne Park after commissioner raises transparency concerns
Summary
Commissioners approved a resolution (as amended) asking the city manager for documentation about Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocations and expenditures related to Boerne Park following concerns about whether previously allocated federal funds were spent on the park.
The Bay City City Commission voted on Aug. 18 to request that the city manager compile public records on Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds related to Boerne Park, after Commissioner Bernie Obershaw said the park had been listed as a priority for CDBG funding for several years but questioned whether allocated funds had been spent on improvements.
Commissioner Obershaw read a resolution asking the city manager to provide — for public review — funding records from 2020 through 2025, documentation designating Boerne Park as a CDBG priority, expenditure records, contractor and project completion documents, and explanations for any variances or reallocations. The resolution also requested the information be made publicly available and presented at a public meeting.
Commission debate and staff responses clarified several points. Debbie (city staff) told the commission that in the last five years the city had not allocated CDBG funding specifically to Boerne Park, and that in the current annual plan the city had allocated $200,000 for playgrounds and had noted Roosevelt or Boerne Park as potential recipients. She said that most of the requested information is available and that staff did not anticipate the request would require extensive time to compile.
Commissioner Cubitt expressed concern about staff time needed to assemble the records; staff said the information could be provided without a large time burden. Commissioner Tenney successfully moved to amend the resolution by removing a specific 30‑day production deadline to give staff flexibility; that amendment passed on a recorded vote, and the motion as amended then passed unanimously.
The discussion also referenced a separate, approved change order for a CDBG‑funded sidewalk contract that reduced the contract by $54,685.81; staff said those funds return to the HUD pool and could be put toward another sidewalk project or reallocated in a subsequent annual plan after required public notice and procedures. Commissioner Obershaw asked whether the unspent sidewalk money could be reallocated to Boerne Park; staff said that is a possible option but would require the standard public‑input and amendment process.
The adopted resolution directs the city manager to compile the requested records and make them publicly available; staff will return information to the commission and present the findings at a public meeting.
