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Prescott CDBG coordinator says annual CAPER shows mixed progress; environmental reviews slowed projects
Summary
City staff told the CDBG Citizens Advisory Committee that annual HUD reporting shows public services met or exceeded targets but several public-facility and housing projects remain unfinished, with HUD-required environmental reviews and procurement cited as key delays.
Michael McInnis, the City of Prescott CDBG coordinator, told the CDBG Citizens Advisory Committee on Aug. 5 that the city’s Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report — the CAPER HUD requires at the end of each program year — will be taken to the Prescott City Council at a public hearing on Sept. 9 and is due to HUD by 09/28/2024. "It's our end of year reporting that's mandatory, required by HUD," McInnis said.
The CAPER summarizes accomplishments from program year 2024. McInnis reported that public-services grants largely met targets: People Who Care served 317 residents against a 300-person goal; other funded public-service providers included New Horizons and Prescott Meals on Wheels. "Public services, we are, are always pretty easy to complete within the program year," McInnis said.
By contrast, none of the public-facility or infrastructure projects funded in 2024 were completed at the time of the meeting. Projects listed as active included an adult-center storage facility, a replacement affordable housing unit through the Coalition of Compassion and Justice (CCJ), the US Vets officer quarters, and the city's Minor Home Repair program. McInnis said many of those projects should finish in the next program year but explained several common causes of delay.
"CDBG money oftentimes isn't, you know, doesn't satisfy the complete amount of a project," McInnis said, describing how recipients commonly use CDBG as seed funding while seeking additional match from donors. He also pointed to municipal procurement rules that require competitive bidding for larger projects, and to current contractor shortages and material delays.
McInnis emphasized that the HUD-required environmental review process has been the largest single source of delay on several projects, and he used the US Vets officer-quarters project as an example. "The reason or a big reason why the US vet's officer quarters was delayed so long, it really came down to the environmental review process," he said, adding that the review involved multiple entities, including federal and tribal interests.
The committee discussed program administration and asked questions about the CAPER. McInnis said the CAPER and related consolidated-plan documents will be made available to the public online and at the library and that public comments submitted during the Council hearing will be incorporated into the final report to HUD.
No formal committee action on the CAPER was recorded at this meeting; McInnis said the report will proceed to the City Council public hearing on Sept. 9. Committee business at the end of the meeting covered scheduling: the next CAC meeting is planned for Oct. 21 and the city’s grant application period is scheduled to open Dec. 1.
Meeting context: the CAPER presentation lasted the bulk of the committee’s agenda and drew questions from multiple members. McInnis noted that many projects funded in earlier years (including funding that began in 2022 for some items) remain in construction or procurement phases, with completion expected in the coming program year.
