Leesburg CRA approves 19 home‑improvement grants; CRA funds earmarked for emergency AC replacements

The Carver Heights–Montclair Area Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Leesburg on June 9 approved a resolution authorizing home‑improvement grant award agreements for 19 recipients in the Carver Heights–Montclair Community Redevelopment Area.

The grants were adopted by roll call vote; all present commissioners voted to approve the agreements. Agency staff said the awards represent a second rollout of the program and that remaining awards this fiscal year were picked up from prior applicants who were not funded in the previous round.

Agency staff told commissioners the grants will be distributed on a first‑come, first‑served basis within the current allocation; if funds remain they said staff can bring individual applications back to the agency for approval. "If there's any funding left over, we can run those individually, and bring it to you as they come in," a staff member said during discussion.

Why this matters: the program directs CRA funds to home repairs in targeted neighborhoods, a primary use of redevelopment dollars. Commissioners and residents pressed staff for clarity on geography and process after the vote, and staff emphasized that funds for the awards and for upcoming emergency repairs come from CRA reserves, not the city general fund.

Supporting details and follow‑up: commissioners pressed staff to ensure residents in Montclair and other eligible parts of the CRA were aware of the application process. A commissioner asked whether Montclair had been specifically targeted; staff said eligible residents simply must apply and that outreach materials were distributed. Another commissioner noted calls from East Side residents and clarified that the East Side does not have funding available from this CRA allocation this year.

City facilities HVAC emergency repairs: during the CRA portion of the meeting, city staff reported a recent string of commercial air‑conditioning failures across multiple municipal buildings, including the police station, the library, the municipal operations center and the resource center. Staff described the repair for the resource center as an emergency replacement and estimated the cost at $137,655 to install new commercial units and associated transfer equipment. Staff said this will be handled as an emergency expenditure and will be paid from CRA reserve funds because the building was constructed with CRA funds and lies in the CRA area.

Staff reported the CRA reserve balance at about $750,000 after accounting for the evening's home‑improvement expenditures and the pending HVAC expense. "That that's underway. So there's about $750,000 reserve in the CRA that does not include the money that you just spent tonight," a staff member said. The staff member added that the HVAC work will be returned to the agency for formal approval after the emergency work is performed (post‑facto approval under emergency procurement rules).

Process and next steps: commissioners asked for more public outreach about the grant application process and discussed meeting cadence for CRA business. One commissioner proposed moving to monthly CRA meetings to facilitate quicker response and to increase institutional knowledge for newer CRA commissioners; others said they can call meetings as needed and emphasized that agendas are required for special meetings. Staff asked commissioners who want items discussed to submit them to the city manager for agenda placement.

Ending: Staff will proceed with the grant agreements and emergency HVAC work and will return formal procurement documents to the agency for post‑facto approval as required by the city's emergency expenditure process. Commissioners asked staff to step up outreach so eligible residents know how to apply for future rounds and requested status updates on CRA projects at future meetings.