The Traverse City commission on Aug. 18 authorized contracts with local nonprofit subrecipients totaling $294,289 from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and approved a re-categorization of an earlier Goodwill allocation. Staff said increased federal compliance needs and specialized work have driven higher administrative costs than originally anticipated.

Deputy planning director and sustainability coordinator Leah Sichterman told the commission that administering CDBG funds required additional expertise in environmental review, archeology and fair-housing compliance, including engagement with the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan and hiring a consultant to conduct required reviews. Staff recommended a larger set-aside for administration to ensure timely compliance with HUD requirements and to avoid future bottlenecks.

Allocations approved by motion (and recorded in staff materials) included grants to nonprofits that provide emergency rental assistance and housing services; staff said the request from Goodwill Northern Michigan was recategorized from bike racks to HVAC units ($21,493 recategorization) and that Jubilee House will receive a public-service staffing allocation but that a separate $55,000 contribution from another source will reduce the city's net disbursement to Jubilee House. Sichterman said one proposed project (Homestretch project at Lot O) still has a financing gap and staff will explore multi-year funding commitments to bridge timing and financing needs; CDBG funds have multi-year drawdown windows but require scheduled milestones. The motion authorizing the mayor and interim clerk to execute contracts and the recategorization passed.