Dothan adopts 2025–2029 CDBG consolidated plan and 2025 annual action plan

The Dothan City Commission on July 15 adopted the city’s 2025–2029 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) consolidated plan and the 2025 Year 1 annual action plan, the plan and application the city will send to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for CDBG funding.

The plans lay out how the city intends to use federal CDBG funds over the next five years to support housing, public facilities, public services and infrastructure, with an estimated $530,000 allocated for 2025.

Todd (department head) told the commission this is the last step before HUD review, and consultant Melissa Malue of Mosaic Consulting outlined the outreach and priorities. "This is essentially every 5 years the city and and other grantees that get similar funding from HUD, are asked to take stock of their housing and community development needs and lay out a strategy for how they'll plan to use that funding over the next 5 years," Malue said. She said the city projected about $530,000 for 2025 and described eligible uses: "money can be used towards housing, improving the living environment, and creating economic opportunities, provided that those activities benefit low and moderate income households."

Malue summarized the outreach behind the plan: five public meetings, four focus groups, a survey and engagement with about 60 agencies and around 200 individuals. The draft plan identifies housing support (including rehab, land acquisition and infrastructure to enable housing), homelessness services, nonprofit facility improvements and public services, infrastructure work and program administration as priorities. The consultant presented a planning-stage budget that roughly targets 40% to housing, 30% to nonprofit/facility/public services and 30% to infrastructure/other activities, with about 10% for program administration; specific 2025 projections shown to the commission included roughly $80,000 for public services, $189,000 for facility improvements and about $267,000 for housing‑related work.

Malue also noted the plan includes the Section 108 loan program as an option the city could consider over the five years, but she emphasized it is an optional tool, not a commitment: "That's not something that the city has they haven't taken out that that loan yet. That's an option that HUD has available. But we wanted to include this, as an option that the city could look at over the next 5 years."

Commission members thanked volunteers and the community development advisory committee for their outreach; Anita Dawkins was named as committee chair and publicly thanked for volunteer service. After the public hearing portion produced no speakers, the commission voted to adopt the consolidated plan and 2025 annual action plan by resolution (Resolution No. 2025-180).

The adopted plan now will be submitted to HUD for review and approval. City staff and the consultant noted the dollar projections could change in future years because annual CDBG allocations depend on federal budgets and on the specific subaward applications the city receives.

The commission’s action directs staff to proceed with the adopted priorities and to use the plan as the city’s official CDBG application for 2025.