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Lake City agency directs staff to design business-development grant expanding façade program
Summary
The Lake City Community Redevelopment Agency voted to let staff create a business-development grant that would expand the existing façade program to cover demolition and capital improvements, set a $40,000 commercial grant cap and reallocate roughly $250,000; staff must return with program rules and a scoring rubric.
The Lake City Community Redevelopment Agency voted to let staff develop a new business-development grant program that would expand the city’s existing façade grant to include demolition and broader capital improvements, with commercial awards proposed up to $40,000 and an initial funding pool of about $250,000.
City planning staff said the change is meant to make the long-dormant CRA program more accessible and impactful across downtown and other CRA areas. "Right now...we're looking at doing is increasing the max to up to $40,000, a 100% grant" Richard Benderson, principal planner in the Growth Management Planning Division, told the board, adding the program would allow demolition of dilapidated structures and typical exterior restorations.
The proposal would shift funds from the capital outlay infrastructure account (account 103.40.55960) and create a streamlined application process. Benderson described a staff-managed application and scoring process with an approved-contractor list intended to reduce back-and-forth procurement delays. He said staff plans a two-phase approach: phase 1 for commercial properties with the $40,000 cap and phase 2 for residential façade work (a proposed $10,000 100% grant) to be developed later.
Public comment and several council members pressed for clear rules to ensure fairness. Sylvester Warren, a resident who spoke during public comment, alleged that staff had already prioritized certain projects and called for a single application window and transparent scoring: "it's gonna be a very unfair process...they've cahooded with...and that's why y'all continue to get that 3 2 vote," Warren said, urging that any projects already "in the pipeline" be reinserted into the general application stack.
Council members responded that final awards must come before the CRA board and emphasized a need for an advisory or review committee. Councilman Carter said the program should include a mechanism "for how the money is doled out" with an application process and criteria akin to an RFP. Councilwoman Young, Councilman Jernigan and Councilwoman Harris all said they supported transparency and a rubric to score applications. Sherry Carter, a Gateway Art Gallery volunteer speaking for small downtown retailers, urged the board to consider smaller requests (she noted signage often costs around $5,000) and favored an application window so smaller businesses could compete.
On a motion by Councilwoman Young to allow staff to develop a business-development grant program and return it to the CRA for consideration, the board recorded votes in favor from Young, Jernigan, Carter, Harris and Mayor Walker; the motion passed. The motion as recorded authorized staff to draft program guidelines and bring a formal program back to the board for approval. The minutes and roll call did not specify who seconded the motion on the floor.
Next steps: staff will draft the full program, including eligibility rules, a scoring rubric and recommended advisory-board roles, and return the proposal to the CRA for final review and a formal vote.
