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City grants manager says invoices filed and construction loan freed for water‑tower project
Summary
The city’s grants manager told council the city has spent about $2.1 million on the water tower project, has newly submitted roughly $1.5 million in invoices and an additional ~$611,000 is ready to be submitted; prerequisites for state reimbursement were met and the construction line of credit has been restored, the manager said.
The city’s recently created internal grants manager told the Newport City Council that a months‑long backlog of grant paperwork has been the major cause of local cash‑flow pressure and that recent submissions should immediately improve the city’s position.
According to the grants manager’s update, the city has spent roughly $2.1 million on the water‑tower project dating to June 2023. He said the city has not yet drawn on a roughly $1 million matching grant for the project but has submitted about $1.5 million in invoices last week and had another $611,000 ready to submit; with contractor certifications and required prerequisites now in hand, he told council that the bank had restored the city’s ability to draw the construction line of credit and that reimbursement should arrive in the coming weeks.
The grants manager described a wider effort to identify and correct delinquencies across multiple grants and urged the council to adopt an official tracking and reporting process to avoid future lapses. He said the police‑department grants are current, and staff are working to bring other departmental grants up to date.
Council members asked clarifying questions about percentages and timing. The grants manager said HUD and related grant reimbursements typically cover a portion (he described a 20% state/HUD reimbursement rate on one project), and that submitting every eligible invoice would maximize the city’s recovery under the grant agreements. He said staff expect to receive the next tranche of reimbursements within three to four weeks "if all goes as planned."
Council did not take action beyond receiving the report; staff were directed to continue completing documentation and to return with tracking proposals.
Note on figures: the grants manager used several approximate figures in his presentation (spend to date, invoices submitted, grant amounts). Those numbers are reported here as stated to the council; several are approximate and some phrasing in the transcript appeared inconsistent, so precise accounting should be confirmed with the treasurer’s office for budgeting.
