Palm Desert council approves consent calendar, reallocates CDBG funds and clears bond plan for apartment project

The Palm Desert City Council approved its consent calendar by a 5-0 vote, adopted multiple substantial amendments to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plans, and approved a plan for bond issuance for the Palm Villas at Millennium apartment project in separate votes during the council’s May 8 joint meeting.

Council members approved a package of CDBG substantial amendments after staff recommended reallocating unspent funds from several program years. Ivan Tenorio, the city’s homeless and supportive services manager, told the council that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rules require a public hearing when $25,000 or more is moved between projects or program years. “HUD requires that anytime that there is a moving of $25,000 or more between projects or program years… we would require a substantial amendment and a public hearing,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio described a reallocation plan that would concentrate COVID-era CDBG funds on a Desert Ark HVAC project, support an Americans with Disabilities Act bathroom upgrade at the Joslyn Center, and use the remaining balance largely for parking-lot resurfacing at the…