Prescott CDBG advisory committee forwards funding package to City Council after split votes on housing proposals

The City of Prescott CDBG Citizens Advisory Committee voted to forward its recommended allocations to City Council after several contested decisions on housing and construction proposals.

At the start of the funding discussion, Michael McGinnis, the city’s CDBG coordinator, told the panel he was working from an estimated federal allocation of $260,000 and that public-service awards would total roughly $39,000 under that scenario. "Today is the big meeting where the committee looks at the recommendations from the subcommittee," McGinnis said, introducing the spreadsheet the panel used to review applicants.

Member Betsy Howe urged the committee to reassign some public-service funds away from the Launchpad Teen Center so the Salvation Army could be fully funded. "I would make a motion that $3,000 of those dollars go up to the Salvation Army to complete their $10,000 request," Howe said. The motion was seconded and passed by a committee vote.

The committee then moved to construction and housing recommendations. Members debated two competing uses of limited CDBG construction funds: conditional $50,000 set-asides for developer proposals (including a $50,000 contingency proposal for USA Housing/Bradshaw) and a $50,000 request tied to the Woda Cooper (referred to in the discussion as WOTA) development. Ginger Cutting argued housing is the committee’s top priority and supported setting aside funds for development; other members questioned developer experience and the source of the $50,000 if awarded.

A motion to set aside $50,000 for the Woda Cooper/WOTA development was brought to the floor but did not carry. Michael McGinnis recorded the result in the meeting minutes: the motion failed and the committee declined to set those funds aside for WOTA at this time.

Committee members then debated the Prescott Community (adult) Center request. Several members, including Jim Howe, pressed that a $5,000 award would not cover needed improvements: "There's no ventilation... it's a mess," Howe said of the facility. The committee approved the larger subcommittee recommendation of $30,000 for the adult center; the chair recused herself from that vote.

Panelists worked through smaller reallocations to balance the package, moving several $1,000 adjustments among organizations previously recommended by the subcommittee. After those adjustments, the committee made a final motion to forward the funding recommendations and the annual action plan to City Council "with the understanding that the funding amounts may be adjusted using a weighted formula that maintain[s] the proportional allocations set forth in the committee's recommendation." That motion passed unanimously.

Michael McGinnis told members the committee’s recommendations are advisory to council and noted the Arizona Department of Housing deadline (April 1) for developer applications can require the committee to consider contingency approaches. He also reminded members that HUD’s final allocation could change expected totals.

The packet and committee record show the principal outcomes: the Launchpad recommendation was reduced to free $3,000 to complete the Salvation Army’s request; the adult (Prescott Community) Center received $30,000; the Woda Cooper/WOTA $50,000 request failed to win committee support; and the committee unanimously voted to forward the overall package to City Council. The committee adjourned after staff announcements about required open-meeting training and member recognition.

What happens next: City staff will transmit the committee’s recommendations and the draft annual action plan to the City Council for its review and any final adjustments.