City opens 30-day public comment on 2025 CDBG annual action plan; applicants outline requests

Bridal Falls — The Bridal Falls City Council opened a 30-day public comment period on the city’s draft 2025 Annual Action Plan for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and heard presentations from multiple nonprofit and city applicants.

Lisa Farris, the city’s CDBG grant administrator, said the city’s suspected CDBG allocation for 2025 is $412,342 and that the city received 16 applications requesting roughly $760,000 in total. The draft plan completes the final program year of the city’s current five-year consolidated plan (2021–2025); the next five-year plan will begin with the 2026 program year. Farris explained that activities must meet one of HUD’s national objectives (benefit low- and moderate-income persons; prevent or eliminate conditions of slum and blight; or address urgent community needs), be HUD-eligible, and fall within the city’s established program priorities: community development, economic development, housing, or public services. She also said funded activities must be located within the city and within the three eligible census tracts.

Sixteen applicants offered brief presentations and answered council questions. Highlights of requests presented at the hearing included:

- Idaho Legal Aid — $18,050 for civil legal services for domestic violence victims (representation and brief services). - Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center — requests including snacks and GED testing vouchers; the center reported rising applications and said it pays about $555 per GED student. - Behavioral Health Crisis Center of Eastern Idaho — $30,000 for case management supporting adults with mental health and substance-use disorders. - United Way — $30,000 for childcare scholarships to assist working families not eligible for state assistance. - Salvation Army — $15,000 for rental assistance, $4,500 for utility assistance and $3,000 toward staff salary (total request listed as $25,000 for several services). - Promise Ridge (family emergency shelter) — $13,098 for a full-time intake/case-management position (part-time/part-time-period clarification made during testimony). - The Nest Pregnancy Care Center — $20,800 to sustain limited ultrasound services to help clients confirm pregnancies and access prenatal care. - Community Food Basket — $25,000 to purchase and install a canopy over its family ramp at the emergency food distribution center. - City Public Works (Highland Park sidewalks) — $195,000 for sidewalk improvements to improve walkability and access to a local elementary school and the riverwalk. - YMCA (Idaho Falls Family YMCA) — requested upgrades including HVAC replacement, steps, ramp work and exterior repainting; the total request presented was approximately $157,078.58. - Habitat for Humanity — $30,000 for the “Brush with Kindness” minor exterior repairs program for low- and moderate-income homeowners. - Idaho Falls Rescue Mission — $10,000 to complete interior repairs at The Haven family shelter to improve safety and habitability. - Development Workshop (Whitaker Vocational Center renovations) — $41,750 for exterior renovations tied to vocational services. - Idaho Falls Senior Citizens Community Center — $7,180.30 to replace ovens used for Meals on Wheels deliveries (testimony emphasized the program’s role as a wellness check and social contact for clients). - Administration — the city requested an administrative allocation up to 20 percent of the allocation (cited maximum and an example dollar amount of about $82,468.40).

Multiple presenters emphasized the role of CDBG funds in leveraging other local and private resources and filling service gaps that are not funded by the city’s general fund. Several applicants described increased need (for example, doubled applications for GED services at the domestic violence center and a drop in donated food at the Community Food Basket), and staff and presenters discussed how projects link to program priorities such as public services and slum/blight remediation.

The hearing remains open for 30 days; Farris said written comments and letters of support will be accepted through July 26. After the comment period the city will hold a council work session and make funding recommendations before adopting a resolution (the plan must be submitted to HUD before Aug. 16 and HUD has up to 45 days to respond). If approved, the city typically commits funds in September and projects begin thereafter.