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Board directs staff to apply for CDBG funding for food bank and school programs, conditionally pursues reservoir eligibility
Summary
The board authorized CDBG applications for ATCA's food bank and a school-resource program (up to $300,000 each) and gave conditional direction for staff to pursue eligibility for a $3 million reservoir infrastructure request if state/federal clearance can be secured, voting 52D0 on the final motion.
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors directed staff to submit Community Development Block Grant applications for two programmatic requests and authorized conditional pursuit of a competitive infrastructure application after a lengthy staff briefing on eligibility and deadlines.
Laurie Adams, the county27s CDBG consultant, told the board the 2025 NOFA includes a total pool that can be allocated as a $3 million infrastructure award plus two program awards up to $300,000 each. She said county outreach produced many ideas but, with an April 2 application deadline, only the ATCA food-bank project was currently ready to submit.
"The only project that we actually have ready to go is the food bank with ATCA," Adams said, noting the application window and federal NEPA/environmental requirements that make late additions challenging. Adams emphasized that infrastructure projects require additional NEPA work, cost estimates and sometimes income surveys; that process can take months and can change project costs.
ATCA and other nonprofit leaders urged the board to back the food-bank program. Nico Daniels, ATCA27s food-bank director, said the network served almost 7,000 individuals in the county in the last month and that CDBG funds would support purchased foods that round out donated goods.
"Approving this CDBG will be really helpful right now," Daniels said. "This last month we served almost 7,000 individuals in this county alone."
Board members debated whether to attempt to capture the $3 million infrastructure pot for a reservoir project tied to the county27s flume/water-supply emergency. Staff warned that HUD rules require that at least 51% of the serviced area or beneficiaries meet low-to-moderate income thresholds for many infrastructure awards, and that federal NEPA clearance and other requirements make a last-minute application risky. Several supervisors requested staff try to verify eligibility with state and federal administrators during an already-scheduled legislative meeting.
The board ultimately voted to direct staff to apply for the ATCA food-bank program (up to $300,000) and to prepare and pursue a program application for school-resource programming (up to $300,000), and to pursue the reservoir/infrastructure option if state/federal staff confirm eligibility in short order. The final recorded vote on the combined motion was 52D0 in favor.
Staff said they will return to the board with application materials and any updates from contacts at the administering agencies; Laurie Adams recommended preparing additional shovel-ready projects for the next, infrastructure-driven NOFA cycle.
The board27s action moves two immediate program applications forward while leaving staff to seek clarity on a potential large infrastructure request that would require additional documentation and agency approvals.
