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Oxford City holds public hearing on $900,000 CDBG closeout; officials say broadband equipment bought but downtown install did not occur
Summary
Oxford City opened a public hearing on the closeout of a 2020 Community Development Block Grant totaling $900,000; city officials said the funds provided COVID-19 rent and utility relief and paid for broadband equipment under contract, but staff said service was not installed downtown and exact broadband spending was unclear.
Oxford City opened a public hearing to receive citizen input on the closeout of a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), grant number 20-b-3524, that the city said provided $900,000 in 2020 from the Rural Economic Development Division.
The chair told the meeting that the grant was used to provide utility, rent and mortgage assistance to households adversely affected by COVID-19 and to fund installation of public broadband infrastructure downtown. “The city received $900,000 in CDBG funds in 2020 from REDD,” the chair said.
A commissioner pressed staff on how the grant money was allocated and whether the promised downtown broadband was actually installed. “But and we did install public broadband downtown?” the commissioner asked.
Staff replied that invoices have been submitted and that the city entered contracts to procure broadband equipment, but that full downtown installation did not occur. “We didn’t install it, but we were in a contract where we provided, I think it was broadband and get some equipment going on,” the staff member said. The record in the meeting did not specify a clear dollar figure for the amount spent specifically on broadband equipment.
Transcript remarks suggested an amount referenced during questioning, but the wording was unclear and the exact broadband expenditure is not specified in the meeting record. The exchange centered on whether the equipment purchase satisfied the grant’s broadband objective for downtown and how much of the $900,000 remained allocated to other assistance.
Other items on the agenda included a rezoning request from Eddie Powell Jr. to rezone 2 acres to expand a sales lot at 1005 Village Street, consideration of an annexation sufficiency statement for property at 1005 Lewis Street, and routine consent items. No formal vote or final action on the CDBG closeout was recorded in the provided transcript.
The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, which the transcript records as moved by Commissioner De Perella and seconded; the body approved the motion by voice vote.
