Matt Snow gave a detailed community development update to Bowling Green City Council, describing how local and federal programs have been used to repair homes, support renters and fund transit.

"As you know, in community development, we administer several different programs," Snow said, then summarized results from several programs. He told council the city allocated $100,000 in local funds for a home‑repair program that has helped seven households so far with an average repair cost of $11,500, primarily for roofs, furnaces and water heaters. Snow said the city was awarded $282,000 in CDBG entitlement funds for fiscal year 2024 and that program assisted 17 households at an average of about $8,000 per repair.

Snow said the city manages a rental assistance contract with the Bowling Green housing agency that dispersed $365,000 over the last year. "Average monthly assistance per household is around $459 and there's about 84 households on that list, per month," Snow said. He added the city also participates in Wood County voucher programs that assist about 22 households locally and contributes $6,000 to the Salvation Army for transitional housing, which helped 20 individuals.

On economic development, Snow said the business revolving loan fund has loaned $230,000 and is expected to create seven full‑time jobs. On transit, he reported that about 25,000 rides were provided in the last fiscal year, about 41% of which were for elderly or disabled riders, and that the program operates seven fully accessible modified minivans.

Snow announced the city completed an RFP for transit services and selected Grama Transportation to begin service Jan. 1. "After startup costs, there'd be a significant savings to the community," he said, estimating around $100,000 in savings. He also said the city won a grant to replace a BG Transit vehicle that covers 80% of the cost; Snow cited current replacement‑vehicle prices near $70,000.

Snow also summarized program partnerships and compliance work required for federal funding, including consolidated five‑year plans, fair‑housing analyses, programmatic agreements with the State Historic Preservation Office and environmental reviews. He closed by offering to take questions and thanked council for support of the local funding allocations.

The presentation did not include requests for immediate council action; several pieces of proposed legislation and grant authorizations were listed later on the agenda for separate readings and votes.