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Lennox council approves CDBG application for East Oriole Avenue improvements
Summary
The Lennox City Council opened a public hearing and approved a resolution supporting a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application to the Governor's Office of Economic Development for East Oriole Avenue improvements, with requested grant funding of about $840,000 toward a roughly $1.9 million project.
The Lennox City Council opened a public hearing Monday evening and approved a resolution backing a Community Development Block Grant application to the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) for the East Oriole Avenue Improvements Project.
Harley Ferguson, speaking for the Southeast Council of Governments (CCOG), told the council the total project cost is about $1,900,000 and the city will request approximately $840,000 in CDBG funding. Ferguson said the CDBG funds are grants and "there's no requirement for giving those back." He also summarized program goals: "to ensure that decent affordable housing is available, provide services to the most vulnerable, and create jobs through expansion and retention of businesses."
The CDBG program requires public participation and that a project benefit low- and moderate-income (LMI) residents. Ferguson said Lennox meets one eligibility criterion: about 52.3 percent of the city's residents qualify as low or moderate income, and he estimated the East Oriole Avenue work would benefit roughly half of those LMI residents.
Ferguson described related local priorities drawn from the city's comprehensive plan — encouraging residential and commercial growth within existing city limits, discouraging scattered development, focusing future housing in low-density single-family areas, partnering with economic development corporations, and preparing public infrastructure for expansion. He noted recent local infrastructure work including utilities on Boynton Avenue and completion of Central Basin Phase 4.
City staff and council members asked about administration and timeline. Ferguson said CCOG frequently administers SRF loans and similar grants for the city and that, if awarded, GOED would pay administrative fees to CCOG for grant paperwork. He gave an application schedule: applications are submitted April 1, with award notices expected around June and formal approvals in July.
After the hearing closed with no public comments, councilor motions carried to adopt the Community Development Block Grant resolution (listed in the meeting packet as "Resolution 2025-512702" in the council record). The council declared the public hearing closed at 7:07 p.m.
The resolution authorizes submission of the CDBG application and confirms the city's required public-notice and citizen-participation steps. If awarded, further project planning, engineering and procurement steps would follow under standard CDBG administration and local contracting rules.
