Lee's Summit CDC recommends draft five-year CDBG consolidated plan and 2025–26 action plan, funds to be allocated to housing, public services and home repair

The Lee's Summit Community & Economic Development Committee on April 9 recommended the city's draft 2025–29 Consolidated Plan and the 2025–26 Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, moving the plans to full City Council for consideration.

The recommendation matters because the plans set priorities and allocate federal CDBG money — funds the city expects to total roughly $342,628 for the coming year — to local housing repair, homeless services, domestic-violence advocacy and public-service programs that primarily serve low- and moderate-income residents.

Jessica Fisher, a consultant with Mosaic Community Planning, said the consolidated plan is the five‑year strategy that guides how federal grant funding will be targeted: "The consolidated plan is the broader 5 year plan that identifies and prioritizes housing and community development needs and develops a strategy to target federal grant funding to areas of need identified." Fisher said the annual action plan lists the specific projects planned for the coming year and serves as the city's funding application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

City staff reported the draft plan resulted from more than a year of outreach, including an online survey with 243 responses, two workshops and interviews with at least 17 organizations. The five‑year goals listed in the draft include improving housing access and quality; providing housing and services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness; improving public facilities and infrastructure; and funding public services and administration for the CDBG program.

Amy Keeneman, a funding specialist with JEO Consulting Group who is managing the CDBG process for the city during a staffing vacancy, described the allocation and review steps and the caps that shape awards: HUD limits administrative charges to 20 percent of the grant and public services to 15 percent, and at least 70 percent of CDBG funds must benefit low‑ to moderate‑income persons. Keeneman said the city estimated next year's allocation at $342,628 and noted $173,000 of available prior‑year funds from a canceled project, bringing total funds available for allocation to about $515,628.

Staff recommended using the 20 percent administrative cap to request $68,525.60 for program administration (about half of the estimated city cost to run the program), and to allocate public‑service funding among four nonprofit applicants while keeping each organization's minimum viable funding level. The public‑service applicants and presentations were:

- Monica Humbard, executive director of Coldwater, which runs a weekend backpack food program for schoolchildren. Humbard said Coldwater is now serving about "325 kids" across 12 elementary schools and other early‑education sites and requested $10,000 to cover a portion of that work.

- Eileen Sheehan, chief operating officer at Hope House, which requested funds for its court‑advocacy program that responds to domestic‑violence calls; Sheehan said the program expects to "service a hundred unduplicated, folks" from Lee's Summit in the coming year and works closely with police and municipal courts.

- Lou Anne Ross, vice president of programs at Hillcrest Transitional Housing, which operates 16 units in Lee's Summit and requested CDBG support to help cover case‑manager salaries for intensive, on‑site assistance to families.

- A presenter identified as Mike, director of operations at Lee's Summit Social Services, described the agency's broad emergency‑assistance work and said the organization provided roughly $1.7 million in services last year to nearly 2,900 unique individuals in its service area.

Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity requested funding for two projects: an existing home‑preservation program that provides repairs and hazard mitigation for qualifying homeowners, and a proposed acquisition‑rehab resale program that would buy, renovate and sell existing homes to income‑qualified buyers. Christina Lakey, CEO of Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity, said the acquisition‑rehab program has been done in other parts of eastern Jackson County and could be paired with a Community Impact loan fund and tax‑incentive programs to stretch dollars and reinvest proceeds into subsequent projects.

Staff recommended fully funding both Habitat proposals using the available prior‑year cancellation funds in the construction/rehabilitation category. For public services, staff said it aimed to fund each nonprofit at a minimum level that would make participation feasible under the program's administrative and reporting requirements rather than simply dividing the public‑service cap equally.

Committee members asked about monitoring and compliance: staff said CDBG subrecipient contracts require quarterly reporting, documentation for reimbursements, periodic site visits and environmental reviews for housing projects. Keeneman said HUD requires the program to operate as a reimbursement program rather than issuing full upfront payments.

After discussion the committee voted to forward the consolidated plan and action plan recommendation to City Council. The recorded roll‑call on the recommendation showed Jared Lovell, chair, Aye; Vice Chair Faith Hodges, Aye; and Council Member Reeder, Aye. The committee also approved the meeting agenda and approved the committee's Feb. 12 action letter earlier in the session by voice/roll‑call votes.

The draft consolidated plan and annual action plan will be available for public comment from April 10 through May 9 at lsconplan.com, and staff said the plans are scheduled for City Council consideration on May 13, pending HUD's final allocation notice.

Quotes in this report were taken from presentations and the committee record at the April 9 meeting.