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Hallowell committee: $5 million in HUD awards, $2.25 million in requests still pending
Summary
Town staff told the Hallowell Multigenerational Building Committee it has two HUD awards totaling $5 million and $2.25 million in additional grant requests outstanding; documentation and conditional funding rules affect the project timeline and design decisions.
The Hallowell Multigenerational Building Committee heard an update on grant funding for the proposed multigenerational facility, including two federal awards and several outstanding funding requests.
Town Administrator Gibbs said the committee has “2 grants that were previously awarded. 1 in the amount of $4,000,000 and the other 1 in the amount of a million dollars.” He added, “The $4,000,000 is specifically related to the construction of the multigenerational facility. The other million is effectively related to site kinds of issues.”
Why it matters: these awards form the core of the project budget but are not immediately available for all project expenses. Gibbs told the committee the town must complete documentation before grant funds can be accessed and that the town council’s approval to engage architects was conditioned on the architects’ fees being paid from the federal grant.
Gibbs said the town has submitted additional requests: a congressional appropriation request to Senator Reid for $1,500,000 and another request to Congressman Amos (for a different project, noted as not related to the multigenerational facility). He also said consultants are preparing two state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) applications through the Rhode Island Division of Housing and Community Development, and that the CDBG application deadline is May 5. Gibbs said the committee currently has “dollars 2,250,000.00 of grant requests outstanding for the multigenerational facility.”
Gibbs cautioned that federal appropriations remain uncertain and that even if the town receives some of the requested congressional funds, the amounts may be smaller than requested. He estimated a likely congressional award around $1 million and a likely CDBG award around $500,000, which together would reduce but not eliminate a remaining shortfall.
Staff and committee members discussed short-term cash-flow options. Gibbs said that, because the town does not yet have access to federal grant proceeds, the finance director has identified potential uses of general government bond receipts to cover near-term costs. The committee also discussed pursuing non‑governmental foundation grants now that some federal awards have been announced.
Votes at a glance: At the start of the meeting the committee approved minutes from February 27 and March 6 after a motion and a second; no further vote tally was recorded in the transcript.
The committee said staff will continue to pursue documentation, finalize pending applications, and alert committee co-chairs to new developments.
