Sterling Heights to seek up to $500,000 in CDBG‑DR planning funds for North Van Dyke resilience work

Sterling Heights staff told council they will seek Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG‑DR) planning funds to refine designs and readiness for resilience work along North Van Dyke Avenue.

Alexis Weinberg summarized recent community visioning and MSU planning work and turned the technical details over to the city’s consultant, who described the request. Consultant Hoffman said the grant funds (federal CDBG‑DR) support planning activities stemming from severe weather events and clarified the city was eligible only for planning (not infrastructure) because Sterling Heights was not among the most impacted communities in the 2023 disaster declarations. Hoffman said the city could apply for up to $500,000 with no local matching requirement and that the request would fund topographic surveys, hydraulic modeling, and benefit‑cost analysis for four sites in the North Van Dyke plan (Riverland Drive, Triangle Drive combined sites, and the Clinton River Trail underpass). Council discussed adding an additional site near 18½ Mile and Van Dyke to broaden the application and asked staff to seek the largest feasible award.

Hoffman provided a planning‑level cost estimate of roughly $200,000 for the sites initially proposed and said including the additional north Van Dyke site would increase estimated planning costs to about $260,000; the resolution on the floor authorized staff to submit an application up to the $500,000 cap and to serve as environmental‑review certifying officer if awarded.

Outcome: council adopted the resolution authorizing submission of a CDBG‑DR planning application up to $500,000 and authorized the city manager to serve as environmental‑review certifying officer. Staff said they expect a draft report from MSU students in early May and will advance technical work once funds are secured.