Council signals sidewalks as top CDBG priority, potentially boosting grant competitiveness

Council members and staff discussed community development block grant (CDBG) scoring and agreed that sidewalks will be prioritized when the council exercises its portion of the application scoring.

"There is part of that scoring that comes from the state, part of it from the state organization, and then part of it from the governing body that facilitates it. We get 20%," the chair explained, adding that sidewalks will score highly under the council's priorities. Staff said they are awaiting scopes and fees to advance design work to the 20–30% level so grant applications can be competitive.

Staff cautioned that some projects historically struggled with concentrated-area income thresholds that affect federal and state grant eligibility; nonetheless, council asked to be kept informed as staff seeks grant opportunities tied to sidewalks and other capital priorities.