Council adopts CDBG emergency-rehab policy and authorizes STEP as subrecipient to speed repairs

The Williamsport City Council voted unanimously to adopt the CDBG emergency owner-occupied single-family housing rehabilitation policy and to authorize a subrecipient agreement with STEP to administer inspection and construction services.

Eric Daley (city staff) told council that the revised policy adds STEP, Inc. as a partner able to perform emergency inspections and in-house construction work so the city can avoid lengthy bid cycles and get homeowners urgent repairs faster. "This would allow us to utilize our 2024 and 2025 CDBG funds that we had previously allocated towards the emergency rehab program to subrecipient those funds out to STEP so that they could administer the program's inspection and construction services on our behalf," Daley said.

Daley and other staff explained that a prior RFQ produced only one responsive quote for inspection services; the council earlier voted to reject that sole quote and then considered the policy and subrecipient agreement so STEP could be engaged directly. Daley said STEP had been briefed on the homes in the queue and that if the council approved the subrecipient arrangement, staff would contact STEP "tomorrow" to begin mobilization. Councilmember Liz Meeley asked how quickly homeowners could receive help; Daley said STEP's teams could begin once the subrecipient paperwork and administrative steps were completed.

The council approved both the policy adoption and the subrecipient agreement 5-0. Staff said the action uses previously allocated 2024 and 2025 CDBG funds and that STEP will be asked to provide initial mobilization and updated cost estimates for the cases currently qualified under the program. The council also directed staff to report back on implementation timelines and any costs or procurement steps that require further council action.