Goldsboro council approves using CDBG‑CV funds for lighting at Brian Multisports Complex to meet HUD deadline

The Goldsboro City Council voted to proceed with a lighting upgrade at the Brian Multisports Complex to be partially reimbursed using the city's remaining Community Development Block Grant–Coronavirus (CDBG‑CV) allocation.

April Johnson Choice, director of development services, told the council CDBG‑CV funds must be used for activities tied to coronavirus prevention, preparedness or response and must meet HUD's low‑to‑moderate‑income (LMI) national objective. She said staff reviewed possible projects but found many ineligible or too slow to procure before the program's drawdown deadline. The proposed lighting project is single‑source for technical reasons and would likely be installable within the grant's procurement and environmental-review timetable.

April reported the original CDBG‑CV allocation arrived in September 2020; the city received $427,000 in this grant line and has $292,378 available to commit now. For the multisports lighting, staff calculated the project's LMI service area at 61.6 percent — above HUD's 51 percent threshold for an area benefit. Parks staff also presented supporting data: Felicia Brown, the parks director, said weekday visitation studies from Placer AI show thousands of weekly weekday users and that roughly 57 percent of weekday users during sample weeks had household incomes at or below 80 percent of area median income.

Councilors asked whether other projects (HVAC upgrades at older buildings, broadband in parks, facility HVAC at leased sites) could meet the grant timetable or compliance requirements. Staff said procurement timelines, environmental assessments and lease constraints made the Brian project the most viable candidate to meet HUD drawdown rules. Council voted by show of hands to proceed with the project as presented and directed staff to encumber funds and move forward with procurement and the public-notice requirements for the annual action plan amendment.

If the city encumbers the $500,000 cost and spends it, the CDBG‑CV reimbursement process will allow the city to request drawdown for the agreed portion (roughly $292,378). Staff cautioned that once encumbered the city must complete the work and request reimbursement in time or risk repayment requirements for unexpended amounts.