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Loganville DDA to explore façade-grant program and grant-writing options
Summary
Board voted to ask legal/advisory staff to locate façade‑grant templates and to investigate grant-writing approaches after discussing a proposal to repaint a historic Main Street house; members were cautioned that direct DDA payments to private residences may violate state rules.
A proposal to assist a visible historic house on Main Street prompted the DDA to explore a formal façade‑grant program instead of one‑off payments.
Board member Tara suggested the board either pay for or fundraise to repaint the house, which prompted legal caution. Paul, advising the board, warned that Georgia's constitutional gratuities clause generally prevents spending public funds directly on a private individual's house: “I would caution you against just allocating DDA resources for the painting of one particular property,” he said, and encouraged the board to consider options such as a public/private façade‑grant program or grant applications that route funds through city or county grant programs.
Members voted to ask Paul to identify model façade‑grant policies and application templates and return them for discussion at the next meeting. The board discussed possible funding approaches: (1) set aside a small DDA pot with a cost‑share/matching requirement; (2) pursue city‑administered grants (for example, CDBG or CHIP where eligible) with the DDA helping to administer; or (3) pursue corporate/private foundation grants with a retained grant writer.
On grant-writing services, the board reviewed a proposal for a retainer ($1,500/month for six months) and discussed alternatives, including hiring writers for specific, identified grants or seeking guidance at the Georgia Downtown Association conference. No contract for grant-writing services was approved; members preferred more information and to evaluate city‑level grant eligibility first.
Next steps: legal/advisory staff will collect façade‑grant templates and examples and return them for the board to consider adopting a program with objective eligibility criteria and cost‑share rules.
