Council holds public hearing on $400M-plus state CDBG disaster-recovery opportunities; staff urges multiple applications

At a public hearing, a technical-assistance provider outlined a recommended approach for the City of Perry to seek state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster-recovery funding for infrastructure repairs and improvements caused by the 2023–24 storms. No council vote was required at the hearing; the session served to receive citizen views and to allow staff to proceed with application planning.

The hearing is significant because a large statewide CDBG allocation for rural infrastructure — described during the meeting as approximately $400 million — could fund water, sewer and treatment projects the city flagged after successive storms. Staff and the technical-assistance speaker recommended submitting multiple separate applications rather than a single, comprehensive request so the city’s proposals would be eligible across several funding categories and improve the chance that at least some projects would be awarded.

Mary Gavin, who said she provides free technical assistance to communities on application development and who identified herself as working with USDA-related technical-assistance efforts, described recommended projects and rough cost estimates. She identified wastewater-treatment-plant upgrades and improvements to wastewater collection and lift stations among the highest priorities, noting one treatment-plant package estimated at about $12 million and a Temple Creek-related project at about $9 million. She also suggested including the city’s previously unfunded fire station request as a separate application.

Gavin said CDBG-sponsored projects frequently coordinate with other funding streams, including State Revolving Fund (SRF) programs, and that submitting several targeted applications would make it more likely the city receives a portion of available funds. “We’re going to submit several applications so that hopefully…a few of them stick,” she said.

Staff emphasized environmental eligibility concerns: projects that primarily replace asbestos-containing distribution lines are likely to be harder to fund through CDBG due to environmental review constraints. The speaker and staff noted application deadlines and schedule constraints; the handout distributed at the hearing lists the program application deadline as Sept. 29, 2025.

Next steps: staff will work with engineers and technical-assistance providers to prepare multiple applications covering prioritized water and wastewater projects, lift-station rehabilitation, and potential inclusion of a fire-station request. The council closed the public hearing and did not take additional action at the meeting.

Sources: Mary Gavin, public hearing comments; city staff presentation and handouts during the Aug. 26, 2025 Perry City Council meeting.