Council told facade‑grant contracts signed; city attorney flags one award for possible gratuity issue

Economic Development Director Michelle Rogers told council the city has awarded facade‑grant funding to 32 applicants and has received signed contracts from 31 recipients. The program is funded mainly with ARPA and other designated funds, Rogers said, and staff incorporated council edits to ensure funding sources and scope language were explicit in the agreements.

City Attorney Wiggett raised a legal concern in the meeting: one award appears to have been made for an applicant that submitted after the advertised deadline and was subsequently notified. Wiggett said that awarding public funds to a private party outside the published process could create a “gratuity” exposure unless the funding source and legal authority were explicit and reviewed. He asked staff to identify the vendor and to withhold final contract execution until legal reconciles the award with procurement rules and the ARPA funding source language in the agreements.

Rogers and Deputy City Manager said most of the executed contracts contained consistent ARPA source language but that staff had already emailed award notices and routed contracts for signature; they agreed to pause any final signature or payment while legal reviewed the one disputed award. Council asked staff to provide the contract tracking sheet and to flag any awards that required additional non‑ARPA spending; legal said he would review the flagged contracts and advise whether any contract should be revised or rescinded before payment. Council members emphasized the need to avoid any appearance of impropriety; one council member requested the attorney be provided the specific vendor name and contract immediately so the matter could be resolved before Monday’s meeting.