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Council signals support to reallocate unspent CDBG carryover to Fab Avenue improvements
Summary
Councilors and staff agreed to proceed with a proposed substantial amendment to direct roughly $186,000 in unspent CDBG carryover funds toward drainage and frontage improvements at the Fab Avenue property; staff said the amendment will include two public hearings and a 30‑day public comment period.
City staff presented recommended uses for carryover Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and the neighborhood commission’s rankings for incoming grant proposals, and council members indicated support to amend the prior program year to apply unspent funds to initial Fab Avenue improvements.
Mister Merritt, who presented the staff report on CDBG applications, told the council that a carryover of approximately $186,000 remained from last year’s Montebello Fire Safety Improvement Project and that the neighborhood commission ranked redevelopment of the Fab Avenue property as its top priority. Merritt said staff has secured a $386,000 grant for right‑of‑way improvements and that the carryover dollars could be matched or leveraged with other grant sources to address drainage and perimeter improvements.
The nut graf: Councilors and staff framed the suggested use as an incremental approach — prioritize drainage and frontage work to reduce ponding and dust and to improve aesthetics and parking, and then seek additional grant funds and phased investments to extend the public improvements later.
Council member Benning pressed for clarity on the source and timing of the carryover funds; staff responded the funds were unused program‑year dollars from program year 2024 and would be incorporated into a proposed substantial amendment to the annual action plan. Council member Benning also asked whether the Fab Avenue project could be paired with the planned right‑of‑way improvements on Fry Boulevard; staff said that coordination was intended.
Multiple council members expressed support for moving forward incrementally. When staff asked whether there was consensus to proceed with the amendment, Council members responded in the affirmative and staff said two public hearings and a public comment period would follow before final submission to HUD. “Is there consensus to proceed with that amendment?” a council member asked; the transcript records a council response of “Yes.”
Applicants for CDBG funding to be considered in the draft annual action plan include Catholic Community Services (walkways for transitional housing), Leonard Roberts Park splash pad and fitness loop rehabilitation, Saint Vincent de Paul parking lot resurfacing, Cochise Western Model Railroad drainage improvements (staff suggested pursuing an FTA grant for that site), United Way (emergency crisis fund and community connect events), and Better Bucks Sierra Vista (Better Work program to employ individuals cleaning public lands and running resource events). Merritt said staff will publish a draft annual action plan for 30‑day public review and submit the final plan to HUD after council action and the public comment period.
Staff and council discussed matching grants, staging the work to fit the available budget, and using in‑house engineering where feasible to limit consultant costs. Staff said the Fab Avenue concept plan was approved by a community survey in February 2023 and that Stantec estimated conceptual costs for a plaza, drainage swale and perimeter improvements; the pocket‑park and plaza elements would require additional funding beyond the carryover amount.
