After listening to more public comment on how $1.5 million in federal funding should be spent, the Jamestown City Council approved the five-year consolidated and 2020 annual Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program plans.

On Monday, the council approved the plans after a public hearing was held before the vote. During the online public hearing, only two city residents participated — Doug Champ and Melissa Paterniti. Champ said he believes the city’s CDBG plans have advanced in a positive direction since they were first presented during a public hearing in September. However, Champ still believes the city is using too much of the federal funding toward administrative costs. The city’s annual plan has allocated $321,512 toward administration costs. He said no more than 20% of the funding can be spent on administrative cost and suggested that city officials should spend less than the maximum amount so more funding can go toward community improvement programs.

Champ also suggested, if possible, city officials should use CDBG funding toward purchasing a mobile police unit the department could use as a headquarters in the community. Anthony Dolce, council president, said Jamestown Police Department Chief Tim Jackson has discussed the possibility of purchasing a mobile police unit during the police reform initiative meetings. Dolce said he believes it would be a good idea as well.

Paterniti said she agreed with the plans city officials have developed for how to use the federal funding, calling them “amazing.”

Crystal Surdyk, city development director, said city officials will submit the CDBG five-year consolidated and annual plans later this week.

The city is scheduled to receive a total of $1,540,516 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with $1,198,049 in CDBG funding and $342,467 for the Home Investment Partnership Program (HOME). City officials plan to use $701,537 of the CDBG funding toward low- to moderate-income benefit activities.

These activities include $150,000 for neighborhood target area infrastructure improvement program, $150,000 for public or privately owned commercial/industrial rehabilitation program and $144,935 for Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) public facility improvements. The CDBG annual plan also includes $57,517 for strategic code enforcement, $55,000 for lead poisoning prevention, $55,000 for environmental assessment and remediation and $49,085 for small business development and technical assistance.

City officials also plan to use $175,000 of the federal funding toward slums and blight activities, with $100,000 funding neighborhood target area demolitions and $75,000 for strategic anti-blight initiatives.

City officials are planning to us $256,850 of the HOME funding toward owner-occupied property rehabilitation, with $51,370 going toward a Community Housing Development Organization in the area to assist the agency with its programs.

Community officials in New York state use the CDBG and HOME funding to address a wide range of needs, which enables local governments to support affordable housing initiatives and expand economic development. The CDBG program provides municipalities in New York with critical funding for transformative and unique development projects and needed funding to leverage outside investment in job creation projects. The funds continue to play a critical role in facilitating local economic development in Upstate NY and helping local governments succeed.

HOME funding is the primary source of funding for state and local governments to buy and rehabilitate affordable housing. According to HUD, the HOME program provides grants to states and localities that communities use, often in partnership with local nonprofit groups or development companies. These communities and organizations then fund activities such as building, buying and rehabilitating affordable housing units for rent or homeownership. HOME is the largest federal block grant provided to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing.

HUD officials have three purposes for the use of CDBG funding. First is to prevent or eliminate slums or blight, second is to benefit low-to-moderate-income residents and third is to meet a particular urgent need for the municipality. The CDBG program stipulates that at least 70% of funding must be used for low-to-moderate-income benefit activities, and no more than 30% of funds can be used for slums and blighted areas.

In other business, the council approved a resolution to hire Passport Labs of Charlotte, N.C., for the purposes of providing parking enforcement services, advanced collection services and a mobile payment solution for the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023.

Earlier this month, Ryan Thompson, city comptroller, said city officials received three bids for the services. According to a city staff report, the city’s current contract with Passport Labs expired in July of last year. However, because of the pandemic, the request for proposals was delayed to the end of 2020 after a short-term contract with Passport was approved by the council in August. Passport Labs was selected because it was the most competitive bid due to no start-up costs, low monthly payments and mobile pay solution. The pricing structure will be the same as before.