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Ferguson reviews FNIP midyear: $326,000 paid in exterior grants, ARPA funding still available
Summary
City staff reported midyear results for the Ferguson Neighborhood Improvement Program (FNIP), including program uptake, spending to date and remaining ARPA funds; officials said demand likely will exhaust available ARPA funding before the deadline.
Larry Robinette, who presented a midyear readout on the Ferguson Neighborhood Improvement Program, told the City Council that FNIP’s exterior improvement and related programs continue to attract residents and produce leveraged private investment.
Robinette said FNIP has five active programs: an exterior improvement matching grant (50% match, $1,500 maximum, with a low-income waiver), the Ferguson Tree Assistance Program (75% match, $2,500 maximum, with a low-income waiver), a $2,500 new-homebuyer closing assistance, a sidewalk repair program (50% match, $2,500 max) and a $1,000 neighborhood organization grant.
The nut graf: city and FNIP staff said the programs have produced substantial homeowner investment while ARPA funds remain available to support the initiatives through the current fiscal year.
Robinette reported that, since program launch in 2022, FNIP has processed 402 applications and approved 363. The exterior improvement program (EIM) has paid about $326,000; homeowners invested roughly $1.16 million alongside those grants. For the current fiscal-year half, FNIP has paid about $125,000 under EIM and recorded homeowner investment around $412,000. The tree program has paid about $61,000 so far, with $20,400 pending and $104,000 of homeowner investment, Robinette said. The Good Neighbor grant has paid out $37,500 (15 homeowners) — that program is funded from pre-ARPA FNIP dollars, Robinette said.
Robinette said ARPA-funded allocations total about $650,000 for FNIP programs; roughly $400,000 of that is committed or spent and staff estimate the remaining ARPA funds could be exhausted well before the federal timeline because of program popularity.
Council members asked procedural and eligibility questions. Councilwoman Naquita Noor asked whether the tree program is limited to owner-occupied homes; Robinette said all current FNIP programs are open to owner-occupied homeowners only, and the new-homebuyer Good Neighbor grant is a one-time forgivable note tied to purchase. He said the tree program initially targeted fully dead trees identified in a citywide survey; owners of surveyed trees received mailings with applications.
Robinette said FNIP will move blank applications and a drop box to the Ferguson Public Library on the 15th of the month to improve access, and quarterly Saturday application workshops will continue. He also noted carryover timing: approvals sometimes occur in one fiscal year and payments in the next because work and closing processes take time.
Council members pressed on long-term funding. Councilman Palmer asked whether FNIP will continue after ARPA funds are spent; Robinette and staff said the intention is to return to prior funding sources such as Community Development Block Grants and other grants, but doing so will require budget planning and grant-writing capacity.
Ending: Robinette said staff will follow up with a PDF of the presentation for council and the public. He invited additional questions and said one-on-one application assistance remains available.
