City approves grant application for building project

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

During a special meeting Monday, the Fort Scott City Commission approved submitting an application for a grant that if awarded, would rehabilitate a blighted downtown building.

After a brief discussion and presentation by Susan Galemore of the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, as well as a public hearing, commissioners approved an application that will be submitted on behalf of the city of Fort Scott to the Kansas Department of Commerce for Small Cities Community Development Block Grant funds under the Downtown Commercial Rehabilitation category.

If awarded, grant funds will be used to restore a building at 7 N. Main St., which most recently housed an antique store. Bill Michaud, the owner of the building, plans to turn the lower portion of the building into a multi-purpose event center that will serve as a meeting and gathering base downtown for groups of 25 to 100 people.

Commissioners approved two resolutions during the special meeting; one certifying legal authority to apply for the grant and authorizing Mayor Cindy Bartelsmeyer to sign and submit the grant application, and another declaring the building at 7 N. Main St., to be blighted with respect to the CDBG grant program.

The SEKRPC serves as the grant administrator for the proposed project and helped prepare the grant application.

The city has to apply for the grant on behalf of the property owner, but otherwise has no involvement in the project, other than helping to put the grant proposal together. No city funds will be contributed to the project, officials said.

Matching funds for the grant must be provided by the property owner. The minimum match requirement is 25 percent of the project's cost. The match requirement must be met by a cash match from private sources.

During the meeting, Galemore said the total estimated cost of the project is $200,000. The grant request is for $150,000 while the property owner would chip in the remaining $50,000. The maximum amount that can be applied for is $250,000.

Galemore said during the meeting that CDBG funds for the grants originate from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The purpose of the CDBG rehabilitation program is to help cities improve the quality of their downtown commercial districts by assisting private property owners in the rehabilitation of blighted structures.

The hope through the CDBG program is that a strategic investment of grant funds in a key building will prevent the spread of blighted conditions to other nearby structures. Also, it would encourage other property owners to make improvements to their buildings, thus starting to reverse the cycle of blight, deferred maintenance and disinvestment.

All projects funded by CDBG grants must meet a national objective and involve an eligible activity under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Both of these conditions must be met in order for the project to receive CDBG funds. The Kansas program is limited to privately-owned buildings.

The Downtown Commercial Rehabilitation Program utilizes the second national objective, which is the prevention or elimination of slums or blight.

Officials said it could take two to four months to find out if the grant has been awarded.