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Commissioners continue $50,000 grant for Collier County Community Land Trust pending additional documentation
Summary
The board continued consideration of a proposed $50,000 agreement for operating support to the Collier County Community Land Trust to allow staff to provide additional financials, grant lists and measurable milestones.
The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to continue consideration of a recommendation to approve a $50,000 agreement with Housing Development Corporation of Southwest Florida, Inc., doing business as HELP, to operate and administer the Collier County Community Land Trust.
Christy Sontag, director of Community and Human Services, summarized the proposed agreement and the Land Trust’s background: the initiative traces to a 2017 Urban Land Institute study, the county established a local housing fund in 2018 and the Collier County Community Land Trust was certified in 2021 by the national Land Trust certification program. The draft agreement lists five deliverables: a commercial/mixed‑use plan, grant and tax‑credit applications to support construction of affordable housing, operating‑support grant applications for the land trust, quarterly and annual financial reporting, outreach events, and engagement in development of one new affordable‑housing project.
Commissioner McDaniel said much of the proposed work (grant applications, developer coordination) duplicates existing county staff work and asked for more specificity. He requested copies of the land trust’s recent grant awards, financial statements and evidence of deliverables before approving county funds. Sontag said county staff already has the organization’s financials and could obtain a list of grants from the land‑trust executive director.
Following discussion, the board voted to continue the item so staff and the land trust can provide the requested documentation and tighten language in the agreement to include measurable milestones and payment conditions tied to deliverables. Staff said they will return the item as soon as the additional documentation and agreement revisions are prepared.
