Richmond County OKs $1.35 million CDBG appropriation for Scottown Road housing rehabilitation

The Richmond County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 9 adopted a resolution appropriating $1,350,000 in Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the FY25 budget for the Scottown Road housing rehabilitation project.

The appropriation followed a required public hearing and was approved by roll call at the meeting after staff explained the money must be appropriated before DHCD can issue reimbursement checks once construction starts.

Why it matters: The CDBG funds will enable the county to proceed with contract and construction steps for the housing-rehabilitation work on Scottown Road; the appropriation makes the county eligible to receive reimbursements as DHCD issues them, county staff said.

Hope Moses, a county staff member who opened the hearing, read the public-notice language and the resolution that appears in the board packet. Moses said the appropriation is needed because, although the county has not yet physically received the grant payments, the contract and DHCD requirements require the money to be in the FY25 budget so reimbursement can follow construction.

During public comment, Cliff Ball, a resident participating online, said he reviewed the materials and supported the appropriation, calling it “great that we’ve got that much funding to be able to work on this.”

After no further public comments, the board adopted the resolution. The meeting record shows a roll-call vote with five affirmative votes and no negatives; the clerk announced the result as approved.

Details from the meeting record: the notice for the hearing referenced Virginia Code sections 15.2-2204 and 15.2-2507 as the authorities for advertisement and public hearing on the appropriation. The resolution text in the packet states Richmond County received approval for funding in the amount of $1,350,000 from DHCD’s CDBG program and that the funds are “hereby appropriated to the FY25 budget for distributions for the needs of the Scottown Road housing rehabilitation project.”

The board did not debate alternative uses for the funds during the hearing; the appropriation was described as a procedural step required to allow DHCD to reimburse the county as construction invoices are submitted.

Votes at the meeting: the board recorded an affirmative roll-call result (five ayes) on the resolution. The meeting transcript lists the voting members as “Mister Thomas,” “Miss Fiddler,” “Miss Parr,” “Miss Pemberton,” and an additional affirmative vote recorded by the clerk. The motion to adopt was presented with no amendment and no recorded nay or abstention.

What’s next: Staff said the next procedural steps will include title searches and reassessments of homes as required by the contract terms before construction funds are disbursed by DHCD by reimbursement.