Mount Clemens seeks $150,000 in CDBG funds to replace Jones Street utilities

Mount Clemens city administration recommended applying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds covering a capital project and nonprofit allocations, saying the money would help replace utilities on Jones Street when the street is rebuilt next year.

At a commission meeting, a staff member said the city may apply for up to $150,000 for one capital project and $13,584 to preapproved nonprofit organizations under the Macomb Urban County program for fiscal year 2020. The staff member said the Jones Street project would proceed in the 2021 calendar year after the city was awarded a DNR trust fund grant to reconstruct the roadway.

“During that reconstruction, we thought it would be prudent to replace utilities,” the staff member said, specifying “approximately 300 feet of 12-inch storm sewer and 175 feet of 6-inch water main” would be replaced as part of the utilities work.

The proposed nonprofit allocations listed in staff materials included: Care House ($14,520), Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers ($840), Macomb County Warming Center ($5,000), Macomb County Homeless Coalition ($1,000), Macrest ($1,890), New Generation Ministry ($1,950), and Turning Point ($1,452). Staff told commissioners the CDBG funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2021.

A commissioner asked staff for additional details about the Jones Street scope; staff reiterated that the CDBG funds would pay to replace utilities while the DNR-funded street reconstruction is underway.

The commission approved the recommended CDBG application on the consent agenda. The city manager’s office said applications from Macomb Urban County were due Feb. 21, 2020.

Background: CDBG funds are federal dollars distributed through the county to support eligible community projects; the city’s proposal ties the utilities work to a separately awarded DNR trust fund grant for street reconstruction.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the CDBG application and proceed with the Jones Street utilities work contingent on grant awards and project scheduling.