Mount Vernon URA reports HUD drawdown delays, debates signature authority and subrecipient agreements

Mount Vernon Urban Renewal Agency Executive Director Pamela Tarlow told board members on Oct. 7 that HUD funding and system issues have delayed the city’s ability to draw down HOME and CDBG dollars and that staff are reviewing whether to permit the URA chair to sign standard HUD agreements.

Tarlow said the URA has “all of our CoC agreements in” but was missing the CDBG agreement and that the HOME agreement was in place even though funds were not available while parts of the federal government remained shut down. “I did just go on this afternoon before this meeting, and the numbers appear to be there now,” she said, describing a prolonged HUD software update that temporarily hid available funds.

The discussion centered on two operational questions: whether the URA board’s approval of an action plan is sufficient authority for the chair to sign the HUD 424 and related agreements, and whether routine grant-acceptance signatures should be handled by a resolution. Some board members argued the action plan already accepts allocated funds and sets the allocations; others said a resolution should explicitly authorize the chair to sign incoming agreements.

“Resolution for that, then it should include and to give the permission to the chair to sign it,” said a board member during the discussion, urging formalized language before allowing the chair to sign HUD documents.

Tarlow also proposed folding personnel language into a subrecipient agreement that the URA and city would use for HOME and CDBG staffing. She said the subrecipient agreement would be a 10‑year agreement that “will include staffing. A mutual agreed upon staffing and a mutually agreed upon amount,” and that including that language could reduce repeat steps such as separate ordinances authorizing the mayor to accept grant funds for personnel.

On drawdown levels, Tarlow told the board the URA’s HUD account held $5,048,505.57 as of a July 28 review; under HUD guidance the agency should not exceed about 1.5 times its annual allocation at certain points in the program year. She said that, given that level, roughly $2.7 million needed to be spent to meet HUD timing requirements and avoid noncompliance. Tarlow also presented a drawdown status showing roughly $2.8 million collected from Jan. 1–Aug. 31, 2025, including about $1.0 million in CoC funds and about $1.7 million in CDBG/HOME funds.

Tarlow reminded the board that HOME‑ARP funds must be spent by 2030 and that the URA has an approved consultant preparing policies and procedures for those dollars. She said plan amendments to the consolidated plan are open to public comment through Oct. 20, and that the URA will bring amendments back to the board for review.

Next steps the board identified included confirming whether the existing action plan/resolution language already authorizes the chair to sign HUD 424s, drafting explicit resolution language if the board prefers that route, and bringing the proposed subrecipient agreement back with more detail on staffing levels and cost allocation.

The meeting was a work session and no formal votes on grant acceptance or signature authority were taken.

Ending: Staff will return with draft resolution language and the proposed subrecipient agreement for board review; the consolidated plan amendment remains open for public comment through Oct. 20 and will be returned to the URA for formal consideration.