Portsmouth council debates moving homeless response plan to conference agenda and backing CDBG for transitional housing

At a Portsmouth City Council meeting, members debated whether to move a community-developed housing proposal to the council's conference agenda for presentation and whether the next Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) application should be aimed at transitional housing.

Councilmembers said they want a written plan and supporting documents before making a final decision. Several councilmembers and members of a task force discussed scheduling a presentation at the next conference meeting so task‑force members could outline roles, funding sources and expected operations.

Sam, a city staff member, described the CDBG process and the next procedural steps: "With the CDBG funds, we have to hold 2 public hearings," he said, adding that a public input process would determine the final project choice. Task‑force members mentioned Miss Selby and other volunteers would be invited to present and answer questions at the conference meeting.

Multiple councilmembers said they supported housing in principle but repeatedly pressed for detail. One attendee criticized the speed and lack of documentation and urged the council to answer basic operational questions: "We need documents. We need to know who's gonna be doing what," the resident said during discussion.

Council discussion also noted that the city had previously considered other proposals for the same pool of funds, including public‑art projects such as floodwall murals. Staff said earlier grant applications and state decisions had affected the city's proposals for those projects.

Councilmember Sean Dunn moved to advance a resolution asking that the next CDBG application be aimed at transitional housing and called for a roll call. The transcript records the following roll‑call votes on that measure: Dennis Packard: yes; Sean Dunn: yes; Charlotte Gordon: no; Andy Cole: yes (expressing a request to see more information); Levette Mosley: no; Joey Sandlin: no. The transcript does not record a final disposition (pass/fail) or a formal declaration of the motion's outcome.

Councilmembers agreed to invite task‑force representatives to a future meeting to present a written plan, funding sources, and operational details. Staff reiterated that any CDBG application would require the statutory public‑input process and that the public hearings would be the venue to assess whether the community preferred transitional housing or other projects.

The meeting concluded after additional procedural motions and an adjournment; the transcript ends without a recorded final decision on the CDBG resolution.