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Board reviews downtown building improvement grant: up to $12,500, 60% reimbursement, applications begin July 1
Summary
Town staff presented a proposed downtown building improvement grant to reimburse up to 60% of eligible costs (maximum $12,500), outlined the application rubric and timelines, and answered questions about eligibility, geographic scope and potential conflicts of interest; the transcript records discussion but not a recorded final vote on program adoption in the supplied excerpt.
Town staff presented a proposed downtown North Wilkesboro building improvement grant designed to encourage private investment by reimbursing property owners for eligible work and activating vacant spaces.
Under the draft program, grants would reimburse up to 60% of eligible project costs, with a maximum award of $12,500, and operate as a reimbursement program after project completion. Eligible improvements listed by staff included interior buildouts, roofing, HVAC upgrades, fire suppression systems, plumbing and accessibility improvements; staff also included guidance on historic tax-credit considerations.
Applications would be accepted on a rolling basis beginning July 1 and would be reviewed by the downtown local partnership board using a rubric included in the packet. Staff said applicants must score at least 60 points on the rubric to be considered and that the program would run similarly to the existing façade grant process.
A commissioner disclosed a potential personal interest, saying his wife owns buildings that could qualify for the program and stating his intent to be transparent. Staff clarified that the program funds would come from the same pool previously used for façade grants; last fiscal-year façade funding was $20,000 and the next fiscal year’s combined funding is proposed at $45,000 for both façade and building-improvement grant activities.
Board members asked whether the program required a public hearing and whether upper-floor residential conversions and fire alarm installations would be eligible; staff confirmed a public hearing was not required for the program’s approval and that eligible work could include fire alarm systems and upstairs residential improvements where those projects met program criteria.
The transcript records substantive discussion and disclosures; the supplied excerpt does not show a completed motion or recorded vote on adoption of the program.
