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Council hears questions about oversight of publicly funded Bethlehem Co‑op; administration says HUD reimbursements reviewed
Summary
Public comment raised concerns about the Bethlehem Co‑op’s use of earlier federal, state and CDBG grants and its reported debt. City officials described the standard CDBG/HUD reimbursement and controller oversight processes and said staff have advised the co‑op on operations and recruiting members.
During public comment on Oct. 14, resident Michael O’Hare outlined a chronology of public funding to the Bethlehem Co‑op and said the organization now reports roughly $1 million in debt and no opening date three years after an initial planned February 2022 opening.
“I was thinking to myself, if this is an example of a government run grocery store, we're all gonna starve,” O’Hare said. He asked council to consider oversight or independent review of the co‑op’s use of public money.
Council members…
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