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Hot Springs staff lays out CDBG priorities and recommends partial awards assuming $375,000 allocation
Summary
Planning staff summarized Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding recommendations from the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC), noting $901,339 in requests and a working assumption of $375,000 in available funding; CDAC prioritized housing and shovel‑ready projects and recommended partial funding for several applicants.
City planning staff presented recommendations from the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) for the city’s fiscal‑year 2025 CDBG annual action plan, emphasizing uncertainty in the federal allocation and recommending priorities that favor housing and projects ready to proceed.
Cathy Selman, Planning and Development Director, told the board that total requests received equaled $901,339.30 while CDAC based its prioritization on an expected allocation of $375,000. “The City of Hot Springs is an entitlement grantee of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, Community Development Block Grant, CDBG program,” Selman said, noting annual action plans must be submitted within 60 days of HUD’s allocation notice. She cautioned, however, that actual allocations might differ and that the recommended funding list would be adjusted if HUD provides a larger or smaller award.
Why it matters: CDBG awards fund housing rehabilitation, acquisition, public services and neighborhood infrastructure. CDAC’s recommendations influence which local nonprofits and projects receive federal support and in what amounts.
Key points from the presentation: - CDAC recommended prioritizing housing projects and applications ready to proceed to meet HUD spending requirements. Habitat for Humanity’s two applications (spotlight abatement and property acquisition) were recommended at 50% of their requests because of budget constraints. - Public service caps imposed by HUD limit public service activity to 15% of a grant; based on the $375,000 assumption, CDAC allocated half of the available public service funding (about $28,125) to each of two public‑service applicants (C4K and HIM). Selman said staff has asked those agencies for detailed management plans showing scope, deliverables and costs. - CDAC recommended partial funding for other applications where prior year funds remain unspent or where environmental approvals had lapsed. Some projects were not recommended because applications were conceptual or redundant with existing infrastructure (for example, a north‑side Morrison Street sidewalk application was not recommended).
Public process and timeline: applications were solicited between Nov. 11 and Jan. 31; CDAC held a public hearing on March 6. CDAC’s recommendation was unanimous (5‑0) at its meeting. Staff said the board will consider the prioritized list and, once HUD announces the allocation, staff will return with an annual action plan for the board to approve.
Directors asked for more detail in the packet about how reduced awards would affect project outcomes and whether partial funding would enable projects to proceed. Selman said staff and the CDBG administrator were seeking more detailed implementation plans from applicants and would include those materials in the board packet if they were available before publication.
No formal vote was taken at the agenda review; the board will consider the CDBG recommendations and any necessary annual action plan once HUD announces the allocation and staff brings a final plan back for approval.
