Evansville Citizens Advisory Committee recommends ESG and CDBG public‑service allocations, urges $10,000 minimum

The Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) on Wednesday recommended a set of allocations for federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) public‑service funds and agreed to forward the spreadsheet of recommendations to Mayor Terry for consideration and then to City Council.

Committee members spent the Feb. 5 meeting confirming a recommended dollar amount for each applicant, largely following the group mode (most‑frequent recommendation) or the calculated average where the mode was not decisive. The CAC’s CDBG public‑service recommendations are intended to stay under an anticipated public‑service cap of about $308,000; at one point the staff reported $9,180 remained available to allocate after the committee’s selections.

Why it matters: These recommendations shape which local nonprofit services — food pantries, homeless shelters, youth and senior programs and outreach teams — would receive federal grant funding through HUD programs administered by the city if the mayor and council accept the CAC’s proposals.

The committee’s recommendations

Votes at a glance: the CAC recommended the following allocations (amounts are the CAC’s recommended funding to be forwarded to the mayor):

- Albion Fellows Bacon Center (domestic violence shelter): $20,000 - Aurora coordinated entry assessment team: $16,000 - Evansville Rescue Mission (day shelter): $10,000 - Echo House / House of Bread and Peace (shelter services): $16,000 - Ozanam Family Shelter (family shelter operations): $15,963 - United Caring Services (day shelter): $21,000 - Ruth’s House (women’s shelter, United Caring Services): $10,000 - YWCA Evansville (residential services): $21,000 - Aurora rapid rehousing (placeholder for remaining ESG): $100,749 (approximate placeholder; final amount subject to HUD ESG allocation)

CDBG public‑service recommendations (selected items shown):

- Scribe Children’s Center (safe haven for highest‑risk children): $32,000 - Aurora Street Outreach Team / crisis intervention: $13,000 - Saint Vincent de Paul (emergency assistance/crisis intervention): $19,000 - Arc of Evansville (communication assessment and training): $10,000 - Evansville Association for the Blind (low vision screening): $5,000 - Bethany Apostolic (evening food pantry): $10,000 (committee had previously tabled this; ultimately recommended $10,000) - Kate’s Emergency Needs Pantry: $12,000 - Feed Evansville (new applicant): $5,000 (committee expressed concern that most of the request was for salaries and that Feed Evansville has other funding sources; recommended a $5,000 starter allocation) - Meals on Wheels of Evansville (meal delivery to homebound): $26,600 (committee used an average and later adjusted slightly in the final spreadsheet) - Tri‑State Food Bank (ending hunger program): $30,000 - Tri‑State Food Bank (mobile pantry): $10,000 - ‘‘Swartka and more’’ / Meals on Wheels entry (listed by staff transcript): $10,000 (entry name in the transcript was unclear; recommendation recorded as $10,000) - Voices (long‑term care ombudsman program): $18,000 - Boys & Girls Club Fulton Square: $15,000 - Boys & Girls Club — service to girls: $13,900 - Tri‑State Food Bank backpack program: $25,000 - High school equivalency for at‑risk youth: $16,000 - UMYH (truancy intervention): $10,000 - YMCA (CenterPoint Energy / Caldwell community center consolidated programs): $12,860 - YWCA LiveWires program: $22,500

Committee discussion and staff notes

Committee members repeatedly used the mode (most common recommendation) when members’ proposals clustered, and used the calculated average where the mode was not decisive. Several members pressed for at‑least‑$10,000 minimum recommendations for small/new applicants; Colby (staff member) told the committee that city staff have internally discussed moving the minimum recommendation from $5,000 to $10,000 in future cycles because $10,000 ‘‘goes a little bit further than $5,000’’ and $5,000 can be administratively costly to track.

Committee members debated two small applicants at length: Bethany Apostolic (an evening food pantry that the committee said serves an unmet after‑hours need downtown and is volunteer‑run) and Feed Evansville (a new applicant whose proposal included substantial salary costs). Several members said Bethany is volunteer‑run and has no salary request, and recommended giving Bethany $10,000 while giving Feed Evansville a smaller starter allocation ($5,000). Staff noted that Feed Evansville has previously received other funding (the transcript lists another large revenue source) and that Feed Evansville’s proposal included about $87,000 in salary/FICA/benefits costs; the committee emphasized that $5,000 would not cover the bulk of that request but would provide a modest, starter amount.

Staff cautioned that the final ESG rapid‑rehousing allocation will depend on the city’s final ESG award from HUD; the committee left a place for the remainder of ESG funds (discussed in the meeting as about $100,749) to be assigned to Aurora rapid rehousing once the city’s final ESG award is known.

Next steps and procedural notes

Committee members agreed the spreadsheet of recommended allocations will be sent to Mayor Terry for review. Mayor Terry will have her own column and may accept or propose changes; any further committee reconvening would follow public‑notice procedures. The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn that was seconded and approved by voice vote.

Quotes and attributions

- ‘‘I would agree with going with the mode,’’ Cassidy Kidder, Citizens Advisory Committee member, said when the group confirmed several mode‑based allocations. - ‘‘We don’t know what’s going to happen with any of our funding — federal funding, which is from HUD,’’ Colby, staff member, told the committee while describing uncertainty about future ESG/CDBG awards. - ‘‘$10,000 goes a little bit further than $5,000,’’ Colby, staff member, said when describing internal staff discussions about raising a future minimum recommendation threshold.

Ending

The CAC’s recommendations do not finalize city spending; they are advisory. The recommendations will be reviewed by Mayor Terry and, subsequently, by the Evansville City Council as part of the city’s HUD grant administration process. If the mayor or council requests further explanation, staff told the committee members they may be contacted individually or reconvened as a group with public notice.