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MLK Center appeals for CDBG help as council re-opens application round
Summary
The Martin Luther King Community Center asked the council to approve a resolution enabling its application for a supplemental CDBG round; center director Heather Holstroud said the center serves more than 6,000 residents and that less than 3% of its roughly $4.6M budget comes from government funding.
At a public hearing on a supplemental Community Development Block Grant application, representatives from Church Community Housing and the Martin Luther King Community Center described why the city should pass a resolution to allow the center to complete its application.
Bob (Church Community Housing), who works with the city's planning department on CDBG administration, explained the procedural uncertainty: the state CDBG action plan requires at least one public hearing before the application deadline, and the city is exploring whether a second public hearing held after the deadline is allowable. Heather Holstroud, executive director of the MLK Center, said the center's operating budget is nearly $4.6 million and that less than 3% comes from government funding; she added that the center serves over 6,000 Newport residents and distributed about $1.2 million in meals last year (a 37% increase this year).
Councilors asked about the city's outreach and advertising practices to solicit applicants; staff said notices are posted in the Newport Daily News and around city hall and that website and social-media outreach were uncertain in implementation. The council moved and passed the resolution authorizing the supplemental CDBG application and discussion closed without further amendment.
