Perry council holds CDBG second hearing, approves resolutions to seek Commerce grant for new fire station

At a second public hearing on April 22, the City of Perry council discussed a Community Development Block Grant application for a proposed 11,000-square-foot fire station with a requested grant in the "$6,000,000 range," and approved a pair of resolutions authorizing application and local match funding.

Andy Easton led a Fair Housing presentation under the Community Development agenda. He summarized the federal Fair Housing Act and its basis in the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (as amended) and said the Act "makes it illegal to discriminate in fair housing transactions based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial status, and disability." He answered resident questions about how creditworthiness and immigration status interact with fair-housing protections and referred attendees to contact information provided in the handouts.

During the CDBG presentation staff said the application seeks funding for a new fire station, and that special disaster-related funding and waivers may be available. Staff described ongoing household income surveys and noted that municipalities may face multiple rounds of funding and must close out current CDBG awards before receiving some new awards.

The council voted to approve Resolution 2025‑85, an enabling resolution authorizing the mayor to apply to the Florida Department of Commerce for CDBG funds, and Resolution 2025‑06, a local‑match resolution authorizing city funds to serve as local match for the proposed CDBG neighborhood revitalization application. Both measures passed in roll-call votes during the meeting.

Council members directed staff to continue outreach and to monitor additional disaster-related CDBG funding opportunities should the initial application not be funded. No final grant award was recorded at the meeting; council action authorized submission and local match only.