The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency on March 28 unanimously approved a recommended 2025 HUD entitlement grant action plan that implements committee funding priorities and adds contingency language to redistribute HOME dollars if the city’s allocation is smaller than anticipated.

The agency’s vote followed review of recommendations from the Economic Development Committee (EDC) and the Neighborhood Investment Committee (NIC). Agency staff and committee members discussed allocations across CDBG and HOME programs, adjustments to proposed awards, and a mandatory 15% HOME community housing development organization (CHDO) set-aside that must be applied to a qualifying project.

The action plan approved by the agency follows the NIC’s preference to prioritize projects serving the most vulnerable populations and to fully fund several public-service and housing activities. Committee materials cited a one-page EDC memo recommending partial funding for several workforce and job-placement programs totaling $280,000. Agency staff said the ED loan fund had a balance of about $200,000 and could grow to roughly $260,000 by Aug. 1 unless more loans are made; staff also noted an $83,000 loan to the Ithaca Coffee Company had recently been dispersed.

A key technical adjustment discussed and adopted at the meeting involved the HOME program’s required CHDO set-aside. Agency staff reported the anticipated HOME award for the year and calculated 15% of that anticipated HOME award—$34,800—must be reserved for any CHDO-eligible project. Because only one project in this funding round qualified as CHDO-eligible, staff proposed and the agency approved reallocating funding columns so the CHDO set-aside flows to that project and the remaining HOME funds are proportionally adjusted among the other HOME-funded activities.

Agency members debated whether to follow the EDC’s lower recommendations for economic development projects and move the difference into the ED loan fund, or to adopt the NIC’s full-funding recommendations for several workforce and public-service programs. After discussion, the board voted to accept the NIC-derived allocations as reflected in the draft resolution on the table, with the technical change to the HOME set-aside. The motion was moved and seconded and carried unanimously.

The agency also approved an amendment to the resolution’s contingency language. Under the amendment, if the city’s final 2025 HOME allocation is less than the anticipated amount, the decrease will be distributed on an equal percentage basis to the three HOME-funded projects identified in the plan (referred to in committee materials as projects 1, 3 and 5). Staff said the revised wording replaces earlier contingency language written around a prior NIC recommendation and better matches the allocations as amended.

Committee and staff discussion included specific project clarifications: Southside Community Center’s resiliency hub (project 10) was shifted from public services into public facilities and has a line item of approximately $58,000 for a proposed solar array; staff warned that a structural roof assessment had not yet been completed and recommended allowing flexibility in how facility-improvement funds are used if installation proves infeasible. Staff said the funds could remain earmarked for a solar array if the board wished, or be described more broadly as “facility improvements” supporting the resiliency hub to preserve implementation options.

Other program notes discussed at the meeting: Catholic Charities’ security-deposit assistance was recommended for full funding (the committee cited a $6,000 staffing line in the proposal), Learning Web’s housing scholarship funding was prioritized (staff noted a $6,000 utility line in its budget would be ineligible as a separate payment if utilities are already included in contract rent), and several workforce-development projects recommended by NIC were scaled or fully funded based on vulnerability and demonstrated performance. The board discussed capacity questions raised about Black Hand Universal’s housing proposal and a concern that a large down-payment component in that project made timely implementation uncertain.

Members also debated further capitalization of the ED loan fund, noting the current federal funding uncertainty. Some agency members urged preserving more funds as loans so the agency would have a reusable pool of capital if entitlement awards decline; others preferred funding direct public-services and workforce programs this year per NIC recommendations. Staff explained ED loan awards require job retention or creation outcomes and that the agency collects employer-level documentation (New York State 45 forms) for reporting.

Staff provided a brief finance update: the 2024 CDBG activities are under contract and projects are beginning implementation; outstanding items that could affect HUD spend-down requirements include a homeowner rehab project (staff discussed two-bid vs. three-bid procurement for small projects) and the $180,000 Cecil Malone sidewalk project (the contract is awarded but construction timing may delay reimbursement). Staff said all loans and leases were current except for one month’s lease payment from the Southside Community Center, which staff expected to resolve.

The agency noted the next steps and calendar: staff will draft the action-plan narrative for public release; the narrative is scheduled to be published Apr. 25 for a 30-day comment period, a second public hearing is scheduled for May 14 at a council meeting, the public comment period closes May 30, and council adoption of the plan is targeted for Wednesday, June 4 with submission to HUD on or before June 15.

The meeting closed with a request from several members that agency leadership consider a formal request to the city for additional operating support or a city contribution to further capitalize the ED loan fund, to increase the agency’s flexibility if federal funding is reduced in future years. The agency adjourned after a final unanimous procedural motion.