Council makes facade grant rolling, approves deadline extension for Evenflo Plumbing

The City of Follum will convert its commercial building facade grant to a rolling program and simplify eligibility scoring, the council decided Aug. 10. Staff said the change will let property owners apply when they are ready rather than waiting for periodic rounds; projects that meet a minimum threshold will qualify rather than ranking a small batch against each other.

Chris Wharton, a city staff member who shepherded the program report, explained the rationale: "the revamp essentially is to make it a a rolling program so they can apply at any time." Councilors discussed geographic preference lines in the program, the role of the program review committee and whether exterior public art (murals) or decorative elements should be explicitly allowed. The council agreed to add decorative details, art and lighting to the eligible list and clarified that murals would be allowable as part of a facade or exterior-painting project to avoid enabling stand-alone mural bids.

Separately, the council authorized the city manager to extend Evenflo Plumbing’s project completion deadline from Sept. 19, 2026, to Nov. 19, 2026, after staff said the firm needs a short additional window to finish its approved work. The extension motion and the overall revamp motion were each passed unanimously.

Why it matters: the change to a rolling program aims to reduce timing friction for small-business owners and make the grant more responsive to construction timetables. The council’s clarifying edits signal that public art can be accommodated within the program’s facade-focused scope.