City Development Director Lisa Hewitt Cruz said Dec. 15 that a Dec. 8 town hall at the Align Center collected community preferences for how to spend $50,000 the city received from Crimson Holdings as part of a consent judgment.

“Residents rotated through idea stations focused on home and neighborhood mini grants, property and infrastructure improvements, community well-being, parks and public spaces and direct household assistance,” Lisa Hewitt Cruz said. She told the commission about roughly 20–25 residents in attendance and said participants commonly favored small grants and immediate household assistance over larger infrastructure projects.

Why it matters: the money comes from litigation tied to ongoing odor complaints and a consent judgment that also required odor-control equipment and community-benefit funds. Lisa Hewitt Cruz said the town hall process was designed to ensure transparency and community input before staff recommends a plan to the commission.

City Administrator Chad Baugh said staff will craft a proposal from the town-hall results and check it against the language of the consent judgment and with the city attorney before bringing it back for consideration. “Once we get closer to what we want to see happen, I would run it by Burke to cover with the judge to make sure it was something that we could even vote affirmative on,” Baugh said.

Commissioners and attendees discussed program particulars. Attendees and commissioners described a possible mini-grant program offering reimbursements in the $100–$500 range for owner-occupied and some tenant-occupied homes, with a focus on those affected during the summer at issue. Other repeated suggestions included street and park lighting improvements, new trash receptacles, upgrades at Dunlap Park, noise-reducing windows and one-time household assistance such as utility bill help or partial property-tax relief for qualifying residents.

Several speakers raised design questions that will shape staff recommendations: whether mini grants can be retroactive for recent purchases; whether property-tax-funded work (for example, sidewalks) should be eligible; and how to verify residency and prioritize households most affected. Baugh told the commission staff is discussing administrative structure, eligibility parameters and legal checks to ensure compliance with the consent judgment.

Next steps: staff will analyze the town-hall feedback and present a formal proposal to the commission after review with the city attorney and, if needed, the circuit court judge.