Board of Works Meeting - June 30, 2026: CDBG Plan, Housing Rehab, and Celebrate 250 Events
Board of Works Meeting - June 30, 2026
The Board of Works met on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, to discuss and approve several items including the 2026 CDBG annual action plan, a professional service agreement amendment for housing rehabilitation, a DORA temporary event permit, the purchase of a VAC truck, and special use of right-of-way requests. The meeting also featured updates on Williamsburg and the upcoming Celebrate 250 events.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the June 23, 2026 meeting minutes.
- Approved the dockets of claims as presented.
Discussion Items
2026 CDBG Annual Action Plan
Jake presented the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan. The City of Columbus receives an annual allocation as an entitlement community. The plan includes $314,000 in funding, similar to 2023. Funds are allocated for public facilities (e.g., rehab for not-for-profits), public service activities, and administration. The city has a contract with ARA Services to administer the CDBG funds, which expires at year-end; a procurement process will follow. Jake noted a pending award for United Way to repair an elevator. Public engagement included online posting and meetings with partners. The board questioned how funds are publicized and the details of administrative and housing allocations. A motion to approve the plan carried unanimously.
Professional Service Agreement Amendment – Columbus Housing Finance Corporation
Jake proposed amending the existing professional service agreement with the Columbus Housing Finance Corporation for rehab of Heritage One and Heritage Two apartments. The amended scope includes substantial exterior rehab for 77 units across 10 buildings, complementing a new roof installed in 2025. The work is expected to extend affordability by 20 years. Reporting will change to monthly updates to ensure timely expenditure of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) by year-end. The board discussed the importance of the project for affordable housing. Motion carried unanimously.
DORA Temporary Event Permit
Jody presented a temporary event permit for Elevate Events to provide bartending services at arts gallery events on Sixth Street on Thursday, July 2. Motion carried unanimously.
Award of VAC Truck
The board approved the purchase of a 2026 single axle VAC truck from Best Equipment Company for $659,750. The truck is included in the 2026 capital budget. The item had only one bid. A board member noted that the equipment is expensive but much needed. Motion carried unanimously.
Special Use of Right-of-Way
Engineering presented requests for special use of right-of-way for downtown business sidewalk sales, including boutique at least and at home with Heartland. Motion carried unanimously.
Williamsburg Update
Robin reported that ground level inspections are complete and reports are pending. Some complaints continue, and two new inspection requests have been made. Progress is positive.
Parks Update
Don reported no updates from parks.
Celebrate 250 Events
Jenny provided a detailed schedule of Celebrate 250 events from June 30 through July 6, including Tea Day (June 30), Star Spangled Kids Day (July 1), Historical Day/First Thursday (July 2), All American Festival and fireworks (July 3), Celebrate 250 Day with parade and activities (July 4), and additional events on July 5 and 6. The city will be closed July 3 and 6, but trash pickup will occur on those days. No board meeting will be held on July 7.
Intern Introduction
The board welcomed Adika Shidi, a junior from Columbus North High School, as an intern assisting with community development projects.
Key Outcomes
- Approved: June 23 meeting minutes, dockets of claims, 2026 CDBG annual action plan, professional service agreement amendment for Columbus Housing Finance Corporation, DORA temporary event permit for Elevate Events, purchase of VAC truck from Best Equipment Company, and special use of right-of-way requests.
- Adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, Mary. Morning. I thought you wanted to morning. It is Tuesday, June 30th. Sorry, I get to do that very often. Today is Tuesday, June 30th. So welcome to today's edition of the Board of Works. First of all, you all look amazing sitting in the new chairs. I thought I would throw that up. Hopefully they're comfortable. First up is roll call. Brenda Sullivan. Here's Eric Brown. And I am here and we'll serve as chair. And so Melanie Henderson and John Pickett are up today. Approval of the June 23rd meeting minutes. I'll move to approve meetings. I'll second. So I have a motion of a second. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Aye. Oppose, same sign. Motion. And we have Jake here to present the 2026 CDBG annual action plan. Good morning. Good morning. This is a proposal to approve the community development block grant. The City of Columbus is an entitlement community, which receives an annual allocation of community development block grant funding. And each year, as part of those funding, we put together an annual action plan. And we also engage the community in feedback and what the priorities of the plan are. The public facilities do remember who who those are for or what that's for. Typically current uh are for not-for-profits who have facilities that need rehab. That's currently what the pipeline is. We have a couple of not-for-profits that we're currently working with. Anticipating taking the first award at the next board of works meeting for one of the not-for-profits for some repairs to their facility. Yeah, Brad, did you have a question? Can you speak a little bit more about what the 62,000 for administration air housing? What specifically that currently the city has a contract with ARA services to administer the CDBG funds. That contract expires end of this year, so we'll be going through a procurement process to procure a third party to administer the CDBG program for us. Some of the public facility infrastructure funding for the um yeah, we do have scope of work for the one that we're anticipating taking at the next one. It's United Way. They have an elevator that has issues. How do you go about getting people to know these uh funds are available? Um currently uh through the public engagement process, uh, we post it online. Um, and then also we have public meetings uh with our partners and reach out specifically to the not-for-profits that could be eligible. Um, and so example United Way was very helpful in providing feedback in terms of uh what our priorities are. So yeah, in years past we've done um well some of the not-for-profits that are responded, includes FFY, um turning point, Columbus Housing Authority. Um just a few that I can mention. I know we've helped with infrastructure elevators, things of that nature.
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