Hanford staff outlines 2025 CDBG draft, council asks to prioritize seniors if extra funds appear

City staff presented a draft of the city’s 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan and scheduled a 30‑day public comment period beginning April 1 and a public hearing on May 6 to adopt the final plan.

The presentation by Sandra Lerma, housing administration analyst in the Community Development Department, summarized the federal program’s purpose, eligible activities and preliminary allocation proposals and said the city projects about $569,484 in CDBG funding for 2025, including program income. Lerma said the city’s five‑year consolidated plan — approved last year — sets priority needs for housing, public services and community development and that the annual action plan will identify this year’s activities and allocations.

Councilors focused their questions on public‑service funding for seniors. Lerma and a representative from the local seniors program (identified in the meeting as “Miss Wharton”) described growing costs for congregate and home‑delivered meals and provided figures recorded in staff handouts about meals served and recent spending for senior nutrition programs. Council members repeatedly urged that, if the city receives payoffs or additional program income during the year, the council should consider allocating the statutory 15% public‑service cap toward the King’s Commission on Aging to help cover meal costs.

Lerma said preliminary suggestions in the draft include $40,000 for homelessness continuum‑related services, $15,000 for fair‑housing education and $40,000 for King’s Community Action; she described those as preliminary allocations that would be refined in the draft action plan. She also outlined other proposed allocations and said the city plans a housing rehabilitation program and a veterans building ADA improvement project funded in part with CDBG. Lerma said the draft will be published for public comment on April 1 and returned to council on May 6 for the public hearing and adoption.

Councilors asked for clarity about how and when the 15% cap on public‑service spending could be used mid‑year if the city receives additional program income or loan payoffs; Lerma said the action plan includes language allowing program income to be applied to public services up to the 15% cap if payoffs occur. Council members asked staff to prioritize the King’s Commission on Aging as the top public‑service applicant if additional funds become available; the council indicated consensus on that direction during the study session discussion.

Next steps: staff will publish the draft action plan for a 30‑day public comment period starting April 1, return to council for a public hearing and potential adoption on May 6, and prepare the CAPER (annual performance report) for the current program year later this fall.

Provenance: The city introduced the item as “Item A, council review and discussion of the 2025 community development block grant annual action plan.” The staff presentation began with Sandra Lerma’s description of program purpose and allocations and closed with the scheduling of the May 6 public hearing.