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Grants office: Junction City qualifies for CDBG after survey; Grand Avenue build grant and $35M in pending requests
Summary
City grants staff reported six pending grant requests totaling more than $35 million, said a low-to-moderate income survey shows 57% LMI households (meeting CDBG eligibility), and briefed commissioners on a $25 million Grand Avenue build grant that staff said demonstrates a 152% return on investment.
City grants staff told the commission that six grant applications are pending for more than $35 million and that several deadlines are approaching; staff said their recent work on the Grand Avenue application involved regional partners and a multi-year planning effort. The grants officer said the Grand Avenue request was scored in part on its projected benefits, including reduced crashes, better drainage and improvements to mobility and economic opportunity.
To qualify the city for CDBG programs the grants office conducted a low-income survey of a random sample of 816 households and recorded 413 responses (target 408), with results showing 57% low-to-moderate income households in the survey sample. "We did reach 57% of low to moderate income households, so we are eligible for CDBG programs," staff said, explaining that the city can now pursue two CDBG grants in the coming cycle and that the CDBG process requires pre-application steps and two public hearings.
Staff also briefed commissioners on other funding avenues (BRIC, Patterson Foundation community engagement grant, emergency solutions for homeless services) and said they are developing a comprehensive grant-management policy to strengthen compliance should federal awards be received. The commission discussed project priorities (sidewalks, housing rehab, park improvements) and asked staff to report back with more specific project lists and timelines.
Staff emphasized the time-sensitive nature of some applications: "We just gave our presentation to the recreational trails program earlier today ... they'll rank them in the next 3 weeks, but they're not gonna announce the award until June," the grants officer said. Commissioners thanked staff for the outreach and canvassing effort that produced the survey results.
