The Finance and Personnel Committee on July 21 approved a Renewal Monona loan application from James Burling and Laura Damon Moore for a major home rehabilitation at 5504 Maywood Road. The applicants proposed a project estimated at $24,000 to add a new half bathroom in the basement; the application requested 50 percent of the project cost ($12,000). Staff recommended a loan of $11,111.05, described in the packet as one penny under 50 percent of the project cost, and the committee approved the recommendation by voice vote.

City staff noted the application included multiple contractor estimates, a signed contract with the contractor and some subcontractor information; several line items (for example, tile purchases) were provided separately by the applicants and staff said those invoices were outstanding. Staff also said eligibility assessment used 2024 income numbers because 2025 finalized figures were not yet available, and that using the 2025 estimate would still leave the property below the 2024 median for eligibility.

Staff said the Community Development Authority (CDA) had voted to waive CDA review for applications under $50,000 and to route those for staff review and Finance and Personnel Committee action. Mark, a city staff member who presented the fund balance numbers, said the city budgets $250,000 for the Renewal Monona loan program on a rolling 12‑month basis and that about $146,000 remained at the time of the meeting; he added the city expected to receive more than $100,000 in paybacks during the year and estimated total fund-balance cash in the range of roughly $750,000–$850,000 (a staff estimate given during the meeting). The committee asked no further questions of the applicants, and the motion to approve the recommended loan carried by voice vote.

The approval was limited to the loan amount recommended by staff; the committee did not modify loan terms in the public record.