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Shawnee council approves CDBG-CV amendment to fund storage conversion at Shawnee Community Services
Summary
The council approved a substantial amendment to the city’s 2020 CDBG annual action plan to use remaining coronavirus-setaside CDBG funds to finance covered storage and related site work at Shawnee Community Services, and authorized grant administration and design-build procurement steps.
Shawnee — The City Council on Oct. 13 approved a substantial amendment to the city’s 2020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan to use remaining coronavirus-setaside (CDBG-CV) funds for facility improvements at Shawnee Community Services.
City staff said the amendment would apply federal CDBG-CV funds to convert and cover an existing outdoor storage area at Shawnee Community Services into a ventilated, usable storage and work area, with site improvements including a relocated dumpster enclosure and concrete work to make collection feasible. Lauren Grasshopper, assistant city manager, told the council staff estimates and procurement will be handled by the city if the amendment is approved and funding bids come in within available resources.
Why it matters: Council members were presented with agency testimony showing Shawnee Community Services’ everyday operations rely heavily on donated goods and on-site processing. Sylvia Terry of Shawnee Community Services described extensive daily demand and why covered, usable storage is needed: “We’re full to capacity … things are uncovered, and so they become useless if the weather is bad,” Terry said. The council approved three follow-up motions to allow the city to administer the project, enter a grant administration agreement with Shawnee Community Services, and advertise a design-build procurement.
Details of the request: Staff told council there is remaining CDBG-CV funding that must be spent by the federal program deadline tied to the original award (six years after the agreement date). Staff said about half of the CDBG-CV funding has already been spent on earlier pandemic-response activities and that limited interest in subsequent rounds left an available balance. City staff described two approximate funding figures in the presentation: a “remainder” of just over $198,000 and an identified funding package of just over $206,000; Shawnee Community Services has a board-approved commitment to contribute up to $7,500 and will be a Mayor’s Christmas Tree Fund recipient this year with part of that campaign directed to the project.
Use and scope: According to staff, city staff time will be provided in kind; the federal funds would cover design and construction via a city-managed design-build contract. The proposed project footprint is roughly 1,600 square feet (staff said about 1,000 square feet of that area is currently paved and not fully usable) and would add a covered, ventilated workspace, a new dumpster enclosure and associated concrete work so trash collection can function safely. Terry said the conversion would let the agency process donations in bad weather and accept more in-kind donations rather than turning items away.
Questions from councilmembers addressed eligibility and operations. Sylvia Terry said Shawnee Community Services serves anyone in need, not only Shawnee residents. Staff confirmed the CDBG-CV funds are federal and that project costs (design and construction) would not be paid from city general fund dollars; some administrative funding could be used to supplement grant administration staff time.
Council action and next steps: The council voted to (1) approve the substantial amendment to the 2020 annual action plan to include the Shawnee Community Services facility improvements for coronavirus-response purposes, (2) approve a grant administration agreement with Shawnee Community Services for the proposed CDBG-CV project, and (3) authorize staff to advertise the design-build procurement. Motions passed by voice vote with no recorded dissent.
Community context and timeline: Staff noted the CDBG-CV funds must be spent by the federal deadline associated with the original award (staff cited September 2026 as the relevant close-out window) and that the city intends to complete procurement and construction in time to use the funds before expiration. City staff said the procurement will include a pre-bid meeting and that the city will not proceed if bids substantially exceed the available funding package.
