Hayti Promise CDC defends $10M ARPA work as residents press for audits and transparency

Durham — City staff and the volunteer board of Hayti Promise CDC faced sharp public scrutiny Monday over a $10 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) award aimed at revitalizing the Fayetteville Street corridor, even as board members and staff detailed early program activity.

Joshua Gunn, director of the city’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, told council the allocation was designed as a targeted, neighborhood revitalization effort carried out by a community development corporation. “The goal is improvement without displacement,” he said, and staff emphasized that federal rules require phased spending, competitive procurements and milestone-based disbursements.

Numbers on record: staff said roughly $853,000 had been spent as of January 2026 and about $5.4 million had been placed under contract for approved corridor work, including historic-preservation surveys, a neighborhood stabilization program and a youth workforce component. Gunn and finance staff said the city structured the funding as two agreements — roughly $3 million subject to standard ARPA deadlines and about $7 million drawn from an ARPA 'revenue replacement' category that the city can treat with greater flexibility if federal timing becomes constraining.

Residents pressed for auditing and greater transparency. Angel Dozier and other community members asked why a relatively new nonprofit without a long track record received a large award, questioned the decision to remove St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation as fiscal sponsor, and alleged delays in contracting and perceived high consultant spending. “This was supposed to be a fund, not a neighborhood revitalization plan,” one speaker said, urging clearer benefits to long-time residents and historic homeowners.

Hayti Promise’s chair, Cheryl (Sheryl) Brown, and other board members defended the effort and outlined early activity: Preservation Durham is performing a historic-property inventory and plaque program; two homes are enrolled in the neighborhood stabilization program; youth workforce training has started; and partners have been selected for tax‑relief assistance and Main Street business planning. Brown said contracts and bookkeeping systems are in place and took responsibility for a bookkeeping reimbursement, calling it “a simple mistake” that was corrected.

Council questions focused on (1) compliance with contract reporting and audit requirements, (2) the rationale and consequences of moving a large portion of the award into the revenue-replacement bucket, which eases federal timing constraints, and (3) whether the city’s ARPA team and liaison staffing are sufficient to provide needed oversight. Finance staff said the revenue-replacement option is an internal city choice intended to preserve the program if federal deadlines cannot be met and that the ARPA team will continue oversight even if the funding mechanism changes.

What’s next: staff said they will provide follow-up documentation on contract timelines, public outreach plans, audit timing and the status of partner contracts. Several council members asked for clearer, regularly updated public information (including a map of investments) and for board steps to hire an executive director and increase operational transparency. The council did not take a vote on the funding amendment during the session.