Jamestown council approves $1.125 million CDBG application for housing projects

Jamestown’s Town Council voted to authorize an application for $1,125,000 through the Rhode Island Community Development Block Grant program to support three affordable-housing initiatives.

At a public hearing, a council member outlined the priorities: complete renovations of Pemberton bathrooms, a pilot program to subdivide lots to create smaller conforming and nonconforming parcels for new affordable houses, and assistance to acquire property for the town’s sustainable-resident program. The council’s affordable-housing committee recommended the bathroom renovations as the top priority; the mover said “this grant of 500,000 would not be enough to to pay for it, renovating all of them,” urging phased work.

Staff read an authorizing resolution that names Edward A. Mellow, town administrator, as the official authorized to file the application with the Rhode Island Department of Housing and to execute related agreements. The council moved, seconded and approved the resolution after the hearing.

The vote clears the town to submit the CDBG application; staff said the grant ceiling limits requests to $500,000 per project and that expected costs for full bathroom rebuilds, including asbestos remediation and prevailing-wage requirements, could be in the range of $30,000–$35,000 per bathroom. Councilmembers said the grant would reduce pressure on the town’s trust fund and allow some trust-fund dollars to be redirected to other needs.

Next steps: staff will complete the application and work with the Rhode Island Department of Housing on any additional documentation required under the program.