Review: March 12 City Council Meeting
The Sierra Vista City Council discussed how to spend the City’s next allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds after hearing presentations from City staff and three nonprofit organizations at its meeting on Thursday.
This was the first public hearing held on the City’s Program Year 2021 (July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022) Annual Action Plan that will lay out how to spend the City’s $254,678 allocation of CDBG funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. City staff will prepare the draft annual action plan based on Thursday’s discussions and will present it to the City Council at another public hearing on Thursday, April 22. That will initiate a 30-day public comment period before the plan returns to the City Council for final consideration.
Staff’s initial proposal to the City Council includes $174,678 for planned improvements at Eddie Cyr Center Park, $50,000 for an Emergency Home Repair and Disabilities Modification Program, $15,000 for neighborhood stabilization, and $15,000 for program services. Program services covers the funds that may be allocated to nonprofit organizations that have submitted applications for CDBG eligible projects. CDBG funds must benefit low to moderate income persons, aid in the prevention of slums and blight, or meet other urgent community needs.
Three nonprofit organizations submitted applications and made presentations to the City Council on Thursday. The Southwest Fair Housing Council requested $10,000 for a fair housing outreach and media campaign, the Good Neighbor Alliance requested $18,945 for a kitchen remodel at the homeless shelter, and St. Vincent de Paul requested $32,455 to pave the parking lot at its office and thrift store located at 614 Bartow Drive.
The City Council expressed strong support in funding the Good Neighbor Alliance request and sought to explore ways to fund or assist with St. Vincent de Paul’s request. Council members also voiced support of fully funding the City staff’s recommendations to follow through on master planned improvements at Cyr Center Park.
Based on this guidance, City staff will be exploring options to move all these priorities forward as the Annual Action Plan is prepared for presentation to the City Council and public on April 22. Options could include repurposing some of the CDBG Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding being used for rental assistance and evaluating public sidewalk improvements that may be made by the City in coordination with the paving of the St. Vincent de Paul parking lot.
In other business:
- The City Council unanimously approved acceptance of an Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety grant in the amount of $69,939 to purchase equipment needed to implement Arizona Traffic and Criminal Software (TraCS). Arizona TraCS is an electronic forms management software program operated by the Arizona Department of Transportation that enables officers to submit electronic citations, traffic crash reports, DUI affidavits, and other forms directly from Mobile Data Computers in their patrol vehicles.
- Cochise College J.D. Rottweiler made a presentation on the success of partnerships between the college and the City.
Details on the council meeting items are available in the supporting documents for the Thursday, March 11, City Council meeting. They can be accessed via the “City Council” folder on the City’s document server at docserve.sierravistaaz.gov/.
City Council meetings can be streamed live and past meetings can be viewed on YouTube. The meetings are also aired on Cox Channel 12 and links to the videos are available on the right side of this page.
