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Royston seeks $400,000 CDBG for Cook Street water main to enable Dill’s Food City rebuild, create 40 jobs
Summary
Royston City plans to apply for a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant to replace a 6-inch water main with a 12-inch line on Cook Street so Dill’s Food City can rebuild; the project would leverage $10 million in private investment and create about 40 jobs, the state presenter said.
Royston City officials heard a presentation Feb. 27 on a plan to apply for $400,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to expand a water main on Cook Street and enable the reconstruction of Dill’s Food City.
Maggie Smith of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs told the public hearing that the project would replace a 6-inch water line with a 12-inch line from the intersection of Cook Street and Franklin Springs to the intersection of Ty Cobb and Cook Street so the grocery can meet insurance-required fire suppression standards. Royston is seeking $400,000 in CDBG funds and would provide a local match of $283,700; Dill’s Food City is expected to provide $10,000,000 in private investment, for a total estimated project cost of $10,683,700. Smith said the project is expected to create roughly 40 equivalent full-time jobs.
Why it matters: the larger water main would increase water pressure and fire flow needed for commercial rebuilding, and the CDBG program is intended to support job creation and infrastructure that benefits low- and moderate-income residents. Smith said the grant program requires that at least 51% of employees created be low- and moderate-income, which is part of the program’s LMI benefit tests.
Smith described the application process and priorities. "There are 475 possible points; the city will need a minimum of 300 points," she said, adding the application will be scored on demographic need, visibility, strategy and expected impact. She also said the city must prioritize any Section 3 business that applies; Smith reported that no Section 3 business had applied as of the hearing. She reviewed a community housing needs assessment she and City Manager Lanier Dunn prepared and noted that compliance with fair-housing requirements will be part of the application review.
MJ Kneiser of WLHR Radio asked whether there was a firm timeline for the application. Smith said, "The city is planning to apply later in March, but there is no set timeframe," and added that Dill’s Food City hopes to begin construction in June.
No formal vote was recorded at the hearing; the meeting record shows the hearing opened at 2:00 p.m. and closed at 2:15 p.m. The next procedural steps are for city staff to complete the CDBG application and submit it to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs according to the DCA schedule and scoring criteria.
Details extracted from the hearing: requested CDBG amount $400,000; city match $283,700; private investment $10,000,000; estimated total project cost $10,683,700; projected 40 equivalent full-time jobs; LMI hire requirement: at least 51% of new jobs.
