Holyoke committee recommends $799,595 in CDBG funds for sewer work, forwards FY2025 CDBG/HOME plan to full council

The Development and Governmental Relations Committee of the City of Holyoke on Feb. 25 recommended directing $799,595 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) non-public-services funds to the Department of Public Works for sewer infrastructure work and forwarded the FY2025 CDBG/HOME annual plan resolution to the full City Council.

The committee's action, taken during a meeting with Office of Community Development staff, came as staff warned that final HUD allocations for the 2025 program year remain uncertain. "We still do not have our final allocations, available from HUD," said Alicia Zolar, an Office of Community Development staff member presenting the draft budget and spreadsheet to the committee.

The recommendation matters because the city must complete and submit its consolidated plan and annual plan even while federal budget and HUD staffing questions remain unresolved. "I'm obligated to submit that to HUD by, by May 14," Zolar said, explaining the timetable that is driving the committee's work and why staff asked for numbers to be filled in now.

What the committee recommended

- Non-public services (infrastructure, housing, public facilities): The committee voted to recommend the full available non-public-services allocation of $799,595 be assigned to the Department of Public Works for sewer infrastructure. The motion to allocate the $799,595 to DPW was offered from the floor and seconded; the committee voted in favor.

- Public services (15% HUD cap): The committee adopted a set of recommended public-service allocations that total $184,522. Those recommended amounts are: Girls Inc. (after-school and summer programs), $15,000; Holyoke Safe Neighborhoods back-to-school event, $5,000; Holyoke Hockey Club (learn-to-play program), $5,000; Holyoke Parks Department scholarships for youth sports, $23,000; Holyoke YMCA scholarships, $20,000; Western Mass Elder Care (meal delivery), $40,000; Neighborhood cleanups (city program), $1,522; Providence Ministries' Margaret's Pantry, $50,000; Providence Ministries' Kate's Kitchen evening meal, $25,000. Several other public-service requests (including funding requests from the Care Center and Roca) received no committee allocation.

Committee members discussed priorities before voting. "If you don't have water, sewer, electricity, and gas, that's your foundation for everything else," said Councillor Sullivan, urging concentration of the limited CDBG non-public-service dollars on core infrastructure. Other councilors spoke in favor of preserving some funding for public-safety and housing-related projects; Councilor Devine, for example, urged keeping meal-delivery funding for homebound elderly residents.

Administrative/planning funds

The committee also reviewed the administrative and planning portion of the draft allocation (the staff estimate shown was $246,029). Committee members voted to forward the full set of recommendations and the standard grant-acceptance resolution for council consideration.

Resolution and next steps

The committee voted to recommend that the City Council adopt the FY2025 annual plan and accept the projected CDBG and HOME awards in the amounts described in the draft resolution. The resolution presented at the meeting cites the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act as the statutory bases for the CDBG and HOME programs and notes that the city's projected CDBG entitlement for the program year beginning July 1, 2025, is approximately $1,100,000 and the HOME consortium award approximately $829,000 (with an allocation split among the consortium partners shown in the draft resolution).

Alicia Zolar told the committee the office will continue to update councilors as HUD finalizes federal allocations and as the city releases a draft five-year consolidated plan for public comment in mid-March. She also said Holyoke plans to solicit municipal and housing projects under remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds: "we are gonna be rolling out some additional ARPA funds, for housing projects as well," Zolar said, adding those ARPA funds are already in the city's coffers and are separate from the HUD CDBG/HOME awards.

Why it matters

The committee's recommendation concentrates limited federal CDBG non-public-service funds on sewer infrastructure, reflecting councilors' concerns about aging pipes and stormwater problems. At the same time, the committee preserved a mix of public-service funding for youth programs, elder meal delivery and food assistance, and scholarships to expand access to youth sports.

The recommendations will be transmitted to the full City Council for a final vote; the amounts and the city's ability to enact them are contingent on HUD's final allocation, which Zolar said could be known in "a month to, I'd say 6 weeks" or could be delayed further depending on the federal budget process.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to allocate $799,595 in CDBG non-public-service funds to the Department of Public Works for sewer infrastructure: motion made from the floor, seconded, committee voted in favor (committee-level recommendation to City Council).

- Motion to adopt the FY2025 annual plan and accept projected CDBG/HOME awards (resolution): motion made and seconded; committee voted in favor and recommended adoption by the full City Council.

What the committee did not finalize

Committee members and staff noted several uncertainties: HUD's final entitlement figures had not been issued; federal staffing reductions were a concern for local HUD review and contract-signing timelines; and the committee lacks authority to bind the mayor's final allocations. Zolar said the committee's recommendations, the Citizens Advisory Council recommendations and the mayor's recommendations will all be transmitted to the full City Council for consideration. "Once we know, I'm certainly happy to come back to either DGR or the council or both, and we can have some further conversations," Zolar said.

For the record

The meeting record shows the committee took formal votes to forward the recommendations and the resolution to the full council; the committee also directed staff to include any committee comments in the memo that accompanies the recommended allocations when they go to the council.

Ending note

City staff plan to post the draft five-year consolidated plan and solicit public comment in mid-March; councilors requested that the committee's recommendations and any clarifying memo accompany that release so the public can review the suggested allocations alongside the consolidated-plan draft.