CRA forwards $400,000 facade grant for Boys and Girls Club to city and county; commissioners debate program approach

Staff told the CRA board that at the March meeting the board approved moving forward with an agreement for a $400,000 facade grant to support construction of a Boys and Girls Club building and that the agreement is being forwarded to the city commission (March 24) and the county commission (April 7) for their consideration before returning to the CRA for final approval on April 7.

Several commissioners expressed concern about the order and the optics of involving county tax dollars when the CRA had not previously adopted a specific program for such grants. One commissioner noted that the prior CRA approval was a 3-2 vote and urged caution about making the county appear to be the decision-maker if the county votes no. Staff said the item is going to the county because the expenditure was not in the CRA budget and the county's participation would avoid legal concerns by providing intergovernmental concurrence for an atypical, one-time construction expenditure.

Board members debated programmatic options: some favored adopting a formal CRA program or policy to govern facade grants and similar one-time expenditures; others supported moving forward with the building support and suggested a loan alternative (very low or zero interest) if the county declined to participate. One commissioner said he would rather fund the building than other discretionary programming if a choice must be made, while another emphasized caution about opening a pathway that could invite many similar requests.

Staff will proceed with the scheduled presentations to the city and county commissions and will return to the CRA on April 7 for a final decision; commissioners asked staff to provide the program document and contract language for review before the CRA final approval.