TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jonathan R. Lewis, ICMA-CM, City Manager
TITLE: Acceptance of FY 2016/2017 Technical Assistance Grant through the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO)
Recommended Action
Accept the Community Planning Technical Assistance Grant award of $33,000.
Background Information
On April 15, 2016, the City of North Port requested a FY2016/2017 Community Planning Technical Assistance grant from the Department of Economic Opportunity to aid the City in the creation of a revitalization/stabilization program or concepts that would serve to revive and update several low to moderate income neighborhoods on the western edge of the originally platted section of the City. Staff identified seven (7) of the original neighborhoods, most of which were developed by General Development Corporation (GDC) in the 1950's and 1960's for the GDC staff and workers. The areas are centered along Biscayne Boulevard, bounded by US 41, North Port Boulevard, and the Sarasota/Charlotte County line. Many of the homes in the subject area are 900 to 1,200 square foot structures.
For the original grant cycle, the City was not an awardee at that time. On January 13, 2017, the City was notified that there were additional funds remaining in the grant program and the City was the next project for funding. Because the grant timeframe is halfway through the cycle, DEO inquired if the City was interested in moving forward with the grant if we can complete the scope of work by the original June 30, 2017 deadline. Staff determined that with the assistance of a Planning Consultant, the project could be completed with some minor changes to the Scope of Work to amend the timeframes and add flexibility to the neighborhoods how many of the 7 neighborhoods would become a focus, and DEO agreed.
The agreement period began on July 1, 2016 and ends June 30, 2017 as a firm deadline and reflects the timeframe from the original request for pro...
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