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Council agrees to support Doc Hills care home grant application pending staff review
Summary
Doc Hills Family Care Home presented a request for the city to serve as lead applicant on a neighborhood revitalization grant to fund accessibility, structural and energy-efficiency upgrades. Council moved to support the application contingent on staff clarifying state clawback/liability questions.
Denise Kart, grant coordinator for Doc Hills Family Care Home, asked the Hamlet City Council to act as the legal applicant and fiduciary for a North Carolina community development neighborhood revitalization grant to fund renovations to a six-bed adult care home on Spring Street.
"Spring Street is not an ordinary residential corridor. It's one of the oldest streets in the city of Hamlet," Kart told the council, tracing the corridor's history and arguing it strengthens the application's competitiveness. She said Doc Hills is requesting $175,000 toward a total estimated project cost of about $185,685, with the Hills providing a local match from reserve funds and the city bearing zero upfront financial obligation.
Kart outlined a nine-component scope that includes ADA-compliant exterior staircase replacements, porch structural rehabilitation, energy-star window replacement, insulated siding, steel garage doors, perimeter security fencing with ADA-compliant gates, professional landscaping and a standby emergency generator. She said all six residents are enrolled in Medicaid or related assistance programs, so the facility meets the program's low-to-moderate-income criteria.
Councilors questioned the applicant about fencing type, siding color, proximity to neighboring houses and the use of the garage for food storage. Kart confirmed the Hills—Edward Hill and Lurelene Hill—own the property and operate the business and described an electronic accounting system to support reporting and audits.
Council discussion centered on administrative responsibility if the city serves as the lead applicant. Staff and council members explained that if funds flow through the city, the city must create a special project line in its budget and the money would be subject to special-project audit requirements. TC (a council member) asked about the possibility of a state-level clawback; staff said they would consult state program staff to confirm any post-award liability.
A council member moved to support Doc Hills' application provided TC's clawback/liability question is resolved and no city liability exists; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote recorded in the meeting sequence.
The action is administrative: staff will follow up with the state and report back to council; the council did not commit cash from the general fund at this meeting.
