The Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency (IURA) Neighborhood Investment Committee voted unanimously to amend and adopt a reprogramming recommendation that places an $85,000 allocation for the Cass Park ADA public restroom and pavilion shortfall as its top recommendation, with homeless-services facility enhancements listed second.

Committee members debated how to spend roughly $205,000 in CDBG reprogrammable funds meant to address timeliness and spend-down requirements. Speaker 5 summarized options including funding a fire-panel upgrade at the Southside Community Center, reimbursing INHS for Cleveland Avenue project overages, and choosing between Cass Park restroom/pavilion upgrades or a pilot set of homeless-services enhancements such as modular ‘‘pod’’ shelters and hygiene facilities. "There was support in the committee about supporting contributing to upgrades of the Cass Park public restroom and pavilion," Speaker 5 said during discussion.

Staff and committee members emphasized two trade-offs: the Cass Park modular restroom project is more ‘‘shovel ready’’ and could incur early purchasable expenses that the agency could reimburse quickly to meet spend-down targets, while homeless-services enhancements—envisioned as pilot pods and hygiene facilities—would likely require additional site planning, vetting, and potentially more capital to implement well. Speaker 1 (staff) said modular units could be procured and invoiced early, but cautioned that full public benefit requires installation and site approval.

During deliberations members cited recent leverage of other funds for Cass Park (including a prior $300,000 state contribution) and debated the likelihood that Common Council would cover remaining overages. Speaker 3 moved an amendment to make Cass Park the priority with $85,000 and to place homeless-services facility enhancements second; McDonough seconded. "All those in favor of amending the resolution, that carries unanimously," Speaker 3 announced, and the amended main motion also carried unanimously.

The committee also discussed eligibility rules: staff clarified that CDBG funds can pay for accessible improvements in government-owned buildings and described low- and moderate-income area-wide benefit thresholds used to determine project eligibility. Anissa (staff) explained that because the majority of Ithaca’s population qualifies as low- and moderate-income in the city service area, selected Cass Park components meet the LMI benefit test.

Next steps: the committee’s recommendation will go to Common Council for consideration and public comment where Council will decide whether to accept the IURA’s prioritized recommendations and to cover any remaining overages. The committee noted additional follow-up work and more detailed project-cost information will be provided before council action.