Missouri City City Council approved recommendations the final Community Development Block Grant 2018 Program Year Annual Action Plan on Monday, allocating $272,007 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Funding correlates with the city's fiscal year 2018-19, according to meeting documents.
The city’s Community Development Advisory Committee submitted to City Council proposals to invest the $272,000 in projects, and the original list of recommendations included activities such as Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, Child Advocates, educational scholarships, housing rehabilitation and park improvements for the Hunters Glen community.
City Council authorized all recommendations with the exception of allotting $37,000 for Hunters Glen park improvements.
Council Member Jerry Wyatt moved to reallocate the $37,000 to help the city’s more blighted area along Fifth Street and use any leftover funds to support the city’s infrastructure.
Wyatt said the city sees multiple code violations in that particular neighborhood and sees this is an opportunity to assist those homeowners.
“We can’t expect those people to apply and fill out applications,” he said. “We’ve got to get out of the office and go find out what their needs are. They’re not the type of people [who are] going to, probably, have a computer on every desk. ... There has to be some extension from city staff to explore these areas and make sure that we’re getting money to people that really need those services.”
Council Member Jeffrey Boney and Mayor Allen Owen said they agreed with Wyatt on the prioritization of projects.
“I think that, for me, it makes sense to reallocate those dollars to an area that truly needs it and is higher on the priority list than that of the park improvement program for a [homeowners association],” Boney said. “Not that this is not a worthy project, it’s just that at this particular time, I believe that Fifth Street is the best place to put these funds.”
Another consideration is how the city receives less funding in its CDBG program year over year, Owen said.
“It’s been targeted as one of those areas in the federal government that may go away, and it’s less this year than it ever has been,” Owen said. “It’s getting smaller and smaller and smaller.”
The amended list recommendations passed as a result of a 5-to-2 vote with council members Chris Preston and Yolanda Ford opposing the motion.
Ford did not support the motion because it removed funding from a playground improvement project, which qualified for HUD funding because it would serve an area of low- to moderate-income residents and was approved by the advisory committee, she said in an email.
“The four council members that supported the amended motion stated the funds could be better utilized in other low-income areas of the city, such as Fifth Street,” she said. “However, those same council members have yet to stop more than $38 million in funding to a golf course that is not deemed a low-income area so that they can invest in any other low-moderate income areas, such as Fifth Street, which has needed assistance for more than 30 years.”
