Advisory board backs Clearwater’s FY 2026–27 annual action plan, allocating federal housing dollars

The Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board voted July 7 to recommend that Clearwater City Council adopt the City of Clearwater’s FY 2026–27 Annual Action Plan and authorize officials to enter into required agreements with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and approved partner organizations.

The plan implements priorities in the city’s five‑year consolidated plan by allocating expected entitlement and grant dollars for the coming year, funding emergency shelter repairs, public‑facing facilities, nonprofit services, homeownership counseling, down payment assistance and tenant‑based rental aid.

"For CDBG, we're expecting $912,662. For HOME, we're expecting $360,339.74. And then SHIP, we're expecting $825,856," Dylan Mayhew, the city’s housing manager, told the board as he walked members through the draft annual action plan and the budget assumptions behind it. Mayhew said HOME funds may be "stacked" over seven years for larger projects while SHIP must be expended within three years, making HOME the primary source for multifamily or large single‑family development.

Mayhew outlined specific program allocations and recipients. CDBG will support public facilities and infrastructure projects, with categories for homeless activity, community development and special needs; examples he cited include repairs at HEP’s emergency shelter (courtyard drainage and kitchen entrance) and Saint Vincent de Paul’s community kitchen. The plan retains a contingency "TBD" bucket so funds can be reallocated quickly if an awarded project falls out.

Public‑service grants — capped at 15 percent of the CDBG allocation — are proposed for Turning Points by WestCare, Metropolitan Ministries, the Neighbor Hope Program and the Intercultural Advocacy Institute’s victim‑advocacy program. The city will also fund economic‑development technical assistance through Prospera (starting awards described around $20,000) and continue a commercial façade improvement program offering grants up to $60,000 for building façades in qualifying low‑to‑moderate income commercial areas.

On housing assistance, Mayhew said the plan budgets homebuyer counseling with partners Suncoast, Housing Education Alliance and Tampa Bay Neighborhood Housing Services. Down payment assistance is budgeted in the plan at approximately $650,000, and individual awards can reach up to $75,000 under the current program rules; the plan also budgets roughly $285,005.99 for tenant‑based rental assistance administered in partnership with the Clearwater Housing Authority. Mayhew said the city uses SHIP as a local match to HOME dollars when appropriate.

The draft AAP attracted one public comment during the outreach period and one in the meeting’s public‑comment slot. Kevin RT Laughlin told the board the Hamptons apartment building’s air conditioning had been out for about two weeks and that power had been restored that morning. Mayhew responded that the complex is owned by the Clearwater Housing Authority; staff communicated with the authority, which dispatched crews to repair the chiller and provided portable air conditioners, food and beverages as interim assistance to residents.

After brief board discussion and no objections, a board member moved to recommend the annual action plan to City Council; the board approved the motion by voice vote with all in favor and no opposition recorded.

The board also approved the meeting minutes from May 12, 2026 earlier in the session. Mayhew closed the agenda item by directing members to a city website resource with the draft AAP, CAPER and attachments and offering printed or emailed copies of the consolidated plan while the city completes accessibility (ADA) updates for the large consolidated‑plan file.

The Neighborhood and Affordable Housing Advisory Board’s recommendation will be forwarded to Clearwater City Council for final consideration; the board’s next meeting is scheduled for August 20, 2026.