Farmington City Council members on Tuesday heard presentations from 16 nonprofit organizations seeking fiscal‑year 2025 public‑service grants under the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and city general‑fund programs.

The city has $207,792 available for public‑service awards and received requests that staff calculated at $331,972, Jennifer Roland, a city staff member, told the council during the meeting’s opening overview. Roland and other staff also described the application and review process and said council will consider final awards at a later meeting; staff first said award consideration would be scheduled for the July 24 council meeting and, later in the same meeting, another staff member said awards would be considered at the June 24 meeting. The transcript records both statements; the council did not resolve that scheduling discrepancy during the session.

Why it matters: CDBG and general‑fund public‑service grants pay for counseling, shelters, youth mentoring, food security, senior services and other direct‑service programs that city staff and applicants said fill gaps left by shrinking federal grants and local resources.

Most presenters described ongoing operations and the population they serve and gave concrete funding requests when available. Highlights from applicants: Eliana Butler, executive director of “****** Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico,” said therapy funds historically supported the organization’s counseling and helped reduce a large therapy wait list; Butler noted federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding have been cut and said CDBG funds help fill gaps. Nelson Francisco, site director for Big Brothers Big Sisters, described one‑to‑one mentoring and said the organization’s annual budget is $283,000 but did not state a specific CDBG ask during his remarks.

Other applicants who stated requested amounts included:
- Childhaven — Andrea Pena asked for $30,000 in CDBG funds to sustain a child‑shelter case manager; Pena provided salary and benefit figures to explain the request.
- Family Crisis Center — Saberta Betsui requested $30,000 to support the agency’s emergency protective shelter (Marge’s Place) and 24‑hour hotline.
- Convicted by Christ / Byron Boyd House of Hope — Jay Windeborn requested $30,000 to support the halfway‑house program and operations.
- ECHO (Economic Council Helping Others) — Laura Watson and Perla Gaffing sought $25,000 for the backpacks/Meals for Kids program, which the applicants said distributes roughly 9,350 to 9,500 food backpacks across the school year.
- Masada House — Carrie Rogers said the organization requested $11,385 to support day‑to‑day operations for its women’s sober‑living program (cost estimated at about $87 per resident per day).
- San Juan County Partnership — Anna Kretske requested $20,000 for housing assistance targeted to Farmington residents and described a new rehab‑to‑rental pilot with the state mortgage finance authority.
- San Juan Symphony — Megan Zenteno requested $12,000 to help keep the annual family concert affordable (family tickets were described as $5) and to support education/outreach programming.
- Trace Rios Habitat for Humanity — Cindy Hawes requested $10,000 to build or repair handicap ramps through the A Brush With Kindness program.
- Children’s Hope Foundation — Shelly Dede requested $15,000 from the city’s general fund to help families travel for pediatric medical care and to cover emergency needs such as funerals; she did not frame that as a CDBG ask.

Staff noted three applicants are not eligible for federal CDBG funding but could be considered for city general funds: ECHO (the meals/backpack program), San Juan Symphony and the Northwest New Mexico Arts Council (reported eligibility restriction due to CDBG reporting requirements). Roland and another staff member (Joaquin) provided a five‑year funding history and explained staff would bring award recommendations back to council for formal action.

Questions from councilors during presentations touched on program scope, geography, outcomes and budgets. For example, councilor questions established that Big Brothers Big Sisters serves San Juan County, not only the city, and that Childhaven’s shelter serves newborns and youth through age 21. Childhaven said it requested $30,000 to cover part of a $48,770 case‑manager position, with Title I funds and fundraising covering the remainder.

The presentations illustrate the range of local needs that city CDBG and general‑fund grants are intended to address: domestic violence sheltering and crisis services, youth mentoring and arts education, food security, housing stabilization, services for people with disabilities and re‑entry supports.

The council did not vote on awards at the session. Staff will return with recommendations for the council to adopt at the future award meeting noted in staff remarks.