City Commissioners will consider two Community Development Block Grant funding agreements for street and sidewalk projects during their March 4 meeting.
The first is $569,812.50 to the city Public Works department’s 7th Avenue Northwest street reconstruction project.
Commissioners already approved the construction contract to United Materials for the project during their Feb. 18 meeting.
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In that agenda, city staff said that the contract would be funded by CDBG.
The project is to improve pedestrian and automotive traffic and accommodate Americans with Disabilities Act federally mandated criteria and will connect to a street reconstruction and sidewalk project completed last year, according to city staff.
The project will provide an ADA compliant pedestrian corridor along 7th Avenue Northwest, which is the northwest bus route, according to the city.
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Public Works staff submitted a CDBG application for the project and it was approved by the city’s internal review committee.
Staff is also recommending approval of $870,085 of CDBG funds for Public Work’s 32nd Street South ADA upgrade project.
That construction contract was also approved at the Feb. 18 commission meeting.
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Using CDBG funds for both infrastructure projects will allow Public Works to direct street assessment or gas tax funds toward other projects, according to city staff.
If commissioners deny the CDBG funding agreements, Public Works will have to postpone both projects to find other funding sources, according to city staff.
Tom Hazen, city grants administrator, told The Electric that both projects were always intended to be paid with CDBG funds up to a certain point, but the public works and finance departments agreed that if bids came back too high, the streets budget would likely have to contribute funds.
Hazen said in the future, city staff would put CDBG funding agreements on the same commission agenda as the construction contracts for city projects.