Prescott CAC approves draft five‑year consolidated plan for 30‑day public comment

The Prescott City CDBG Citizens Advisory Committee voted unanimously Thursday to submit the draft five‑year consolidated plan and the first‑year annual action plan to a 30‑day public comment period and onward to City Council for final consideration on July 8.

The plan, required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), lays out the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) priorities and proposed outcomes for the next five years, and the committee’s vote clears the version that will be posted at City Hall, the public library and on the city website for public review.

Committee CDBG coordinator Michael McGinnis opened the discussion by framing the agenda: “Today, we are finishing up on the consolidated plan and first year annual action plan.” He said the draft will be posted Monday for a 30‑day public comment period that closes on the July 8 City Council meeting, which will act as a public hearing and final decision point.

The draft lists six priority needs. The committee assigned “high” priority to housing activities, public facilities and infrastructure, and public services; “low” priority to economic development, special activities/program support, and administration. McGinnis told the committee that public services are capped by HUD at 15 percent of CDBG funding, which constrains how much can be directed to transportation and other service programs relative to construction projects.

On specific targets, the draft sets a goal of completing roughly 80 minor home‑repair projects over five years and includes an aspirational target of adding about 20 emergency or transitional beds/units within that period. McGinnis said HUD rules currently limit use of CDBG for new construction but allow assistance for converting or rehabilitating existing buildings into housing.

Committee members pressed on local capacity and funding. One committee member reported local market data showing 107 home sales under $300,000 in the prior year (51 manufactured homes, 28 condos/townhomes, 28 site‑built), and noted that many manufactured homes were age‑restricted. McGinnis said he will continue to monitor HUD guidance from Congress and report back to the committee if program rules change.

Members also discussed the local regional context: the draft lists the city population base as 48,000 (page 113 of the draft) and the committee noted that crossing the 50,000 threshold can change entitlement status, but McGinnis said Prescott remains classified under HUD rules for now and that increasing numbers of entitlement communities — for example Prescott Valley, which the coordinator said received about $290,000 compared with Prescott’s roughly $275,000 — reduce the overall funding pool available.

McGinnis described outreach and analysis used to prepare the plan: workshops, stakeholder input, a housing needs assessment by a consultant, and CAC guidance. He also flagged uncertainty about the role of the regional council NACOG in local CDBG delivery, saying NACOG’s current involvement is mixed and “not as highlighted as much as probably in past plans.”

After discussion, committee member Jim Howell moved to approve the draft (identified in the meeting as “02/2529 consolidated plan draft”) for the 30‑day public comment period prior to City Council consideration on July 8. John Perez seconded. The vote was recorded by name and was unanimous: John Perez (yes), Ginger Cutting (yes), Janie Evans (yes), Jim Howell (yes), Betsy Howell (yes), and Maryann Settles, chair (yes).

Staff said the draft will be posted publicly on Monday and encouraged CAC members to attend the July 8 City Council meeting at 3 p.m. if possible. The committee’s next scheduled meeting is August 20, when members will review end‑of‑year reports.

Details not specified in the meeting transcript include the exact calendar date in June when this CAC meeting was held and the consolidated plan document number beyond the identifier used in the motion. The draft itself contains the full HUD‑required data tables and the annual action plan appendices, including the awards recommended for the upcoming program year.