OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City Council Workshop on Grant Process - April 23, 2026

City Council — Thursday, April 23, 2026
BodyKnoxville, Tennessee
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, April 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:00:12

Transcript — Verbatim
0:30

Good evening.

0:31

It is six o'clock, and I'd like to go ahead and uh call this meeting to order of our city council workshop on the grant process.

0:44

Um we will begin with um Councilman Thomas leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:55

To the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and justice for all Mr.

1:10

Johnson, will you please call the roll?

1:12

Councilman Adams, Councilman Debartel Laban here, Vice Mayor Fugit.

1:17

Here, Councilman Grant here.

1:19

Councilman Helsley, Councilman Honeycutt.

1:22

Here, Councilman Lloyd here.

1:23

Councilman Parker and Councilman Thomas.

1:26

Eight members present, Vice Mayor.

1:28

Thank you.

1:29

Um as we get started tonight, I just want to um kind of talk about the purpose of the meeting while we're here and the flow of the meeting.

1:40

So grant making is a large and complex and multi-department process for the city of Knoxville.

1:50

And as um we've never had a workshop like this that talks about the mechanics of the grant making process.

2:00

And as we are on the eve of the budget, and um this is a good time to have this, and I appreciate the administration working to pull all these people together.

2:11

And last time I look about 75 slides to try to explain this process.

2:17

So I will turn it over to um Cheryl Ball here in a minute, but do want to say there is a lot of information at um as we go through this.

2:29

I'm sure questions will come up.

2:31

Some of them may be answered in subsequent parts.

2:35

So jot them down, jot your questions down if you can, and then we can um ask questions at the end if if it hasn't been answered sufficiently throughout the presentation so that we can try to make this as smooth as possible.

2:52

So thank you.

2:53

I'll turn it over to you, Ms.

2:54

Ball.

2:56

Thank you, Vice Mayor Fugit.

2:58

I appreciate you all having us here tonight.

3:01

We're excited to share with you a little bit about the grant making process at the City of Knoxville.

3:10

This is the agenda and the key topics we're going to review tonight.

3:14

Uh, eligibility of agencies, city grant making overview, individual grant making program review, federal grant program review, an overall timeline and calendar, and community improvement funds.

3:30

So that is the basic format for today's workshop.

3:36

And to get things kicked off, I am going to turn this over to uh Kitheren Smith with the finance department, the deputy director of finance to share with us some of the eligibility details for the organizations that would receive money from the city of Knoxville.

3:56

Kitrin.

3:57

Thank you, Cheryl.

3:59

Excuse me.

3:59

When it comes to the city's grant making, there are three governing documents that we adhere to.

4:05

First being the city code, specifically division two community agency appropriation guidelines.

4:11

It references eligibility requirements to receive these funds, application and reporting requirements for the recipients of these funds.

4:19

The second being Tennessee Code, specifically TCA 6-54-11, and that's titled The Appropriation of Funds for Nonprofit Organizations.

4:36

I'm sorry, these types of appropriations.

4:57

Next funding sources.

5:03

The first being city funding, and that is incorporated in the city's annual budget process.

5:08

An example of that will be our community agency grants, which we'll speak to a little later today with Jennifer Searle do that.

5:13

And then we have our community safety and empowerment grants with La Kenya, we'll talk more detail about.

6:06

And then lastly, a current copy of a W9 form.

6:10

If for any reason a nonprofit is unable to provide all of this required documentation, we do require that they obtain a fiscal sponsor, and that fiscal sponsor then provides the required documentation.

6:22

And as funds are dispersed, they'll be dispersed to the fiscal sponsor for use by the awarded nonprofit.

6:45

That's okay.

7:10

Okay.

7:33

Yeah.

7:43

Restart the presentation.

7:46

Yeah, well, not the computer restart the presentation, maybe.

7:49

Okay.

7:50

While you're doing that, I'm gonna make an announcement that I forgot to make at the beginning.

7:54

For everyone who's listening and everyone in the audience, just a quick reminder that the comprehensive plan is uh no.

8:04

Yes, the comprehensive plan listening sessions are beginning.

8:08

And so I'm gonna go over those dates.

8:11

These are on April 26th at the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park, and at one o'clock, and then at Christenberry Community Center at 3:30 on the 27th, Lakeshore Park at the TVA pavilion from 4:30 to 6:30, and then it's Cancler YMCA 4:30 to 6.30.

8:36

April 29th, the City of Knoxville Public Works Facility at 5 o'clock, ending at 7.

8:44

And then on April 30, yes, the East Tennessee Historical Society on Gay Street from 11 to 1, and also that day at Whittle Springs Middle School from 4:30 to 6:30.

8:58

So please consider going, encouraging your neighbors to go, and the uh you can find out more information at what's next Knoxwell.com.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████33%
Community Engagement███████████████████████████████31%
Affordable Housing█████████9%
Racial Equity████████8%
Economic Development██████6%
Youth Programs████4%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Public Health██2%
Arts And Culture██2%
Summary of Proceedings

City Council Workshop on Grant Process - April 23, 2026

On April 23, 2026, at 6:00 PM, the Knoxville City Council held a workshop to review the city's grant-making process, covering eligibility, seven grant programs, federal grants, and council discretionary funds. The workshop was led by Vice Mayor Fugit and featured presentations from multiple departments. Council members discussed program details, community impact, and procedural concerns, including attendance and scoring criteria.

Discussion Items

  • Grant Process Overview: Vice Mayor Fugit opened, noting the complexity of grant-making and the first such workshop. Cheryl Ball introduced the agenda, covering eligibility, city grant programs, federal grants, timeline, and Community Improvement Funds (CIF).
  • Eligibility Requirements: Kitheren Smith explained eligibility based on city code, Tennessee Code TCA 6-54-11, and federal requirements. Nonprofits must provide documentation; fiscal sponsors can be used.
  • Parks and Recreation Challenge Grants: Director Cheryl Ely described a 25-year program offering up to $3,000 (reimbursement, 50% match). Projects include beautification, trash cans, water fountains. Outcomes for FY2025-26 include tree planting and gazebo painting.
  • Community Safety and Empowerment Grants: Director LaKenya Middlebrooks covered seven grant opportunities across four initiatives: Safety Grants (Opportunity Youth, Youth Violence Prevention Week microgrants max $3,000), Empower Knox Grants ($85,000 total, youth mental health focus), and African American Equity Restoration Task Force Grants ($150,000 total, max $20,000). Outcomes: 800+ participants in Opportunity Youth, 900+ in Youth Violence Prevention Week, 800+ in Empower Knox.
  • Neighborhood Empowerment Grants: Two programs: Small Grants (max $6,500, requires match) and Microgrants (max $500). Funded beautification, festivals, National Night Out. Total budget $20,000.
  • Community Agency Grants: Jennifer Sarrell presented grants for arts/culture and social services, including opioid abatement ($2 million+). Funding supports operations, capital, and health/mental health services ($820,000+). Outcomes: 1,000+ families receive books, seniors age in place, etc.
  • Federal Grants (HUD): Kevin DeBose discussed CDBG, ESG, and Home programs. CDBG (since 1974) focused on housing stability; ESG requires dollar-for-dollar match. City spends $10 million locally on housing/homelessness. 600+ people benefited from minor home repair programs.
  • Grant Timeline and Calendar: Cheryl Ball presented a schedule showing application months and council approval timing. Councilman Adams requested adding application close dates to public-facing materials.
  • Community Improvement Funds (202 Funds): Savannah Kirk explained the fund ($135,000 total, $15,000 per council member) for discretionary projects. Eligible uses include festivals, trees, field trips. Reporting is subject to council request.
  • Task Force and Homemakers Program Discussion: Councilman Grant raised concerns about the African American Equity Restoration Task Force: lack of full quorum, attendance, and the perception it is a fund rather than a grant process. He also questioned fiscal sponsor fees (suggested 3-5% cap). Kevin DeBose noted the Homemakers program (not a grant) allows for-profit participation and now includes multifamily projects due to middle housing standards. Councilman Grant urged leveraging the task force grants with Homemakers. Council members discussed the task force’s appointment process; it was clarified that the mayor appoints members with council approval, per bylaws. Vice Mayor Fugit suggested reviewing the resolution.
  • Scoring and Feedback: Councilman Honeycutt asked about scoring criteria and outcome celebration. Director Middlebrooks noted each program has its own criteria; feedback is provided informally. Councilman Grant advocated for a point system to improve transparency. Vice Mayor Fugit noted that priorities may change with new administrations.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken; the workshop was informational.
  • Follow-up items:
    • Council will receive an additional presentation on other federal grants (e.g., DOJ, ARPA) as requested by Councilwoman Parker.
    • The grant schedule will be updated with application close dates on the city’s grants webpage.
    • The task force resolution and bylaws will be reviewed by City Attorney Rob Frost, with a report at the next council dinner (approximately three weeks later).
    • Council will explore creating a more objective scoring rubric for grants to improve transparency and feedback to applicants.
    • The complete budget appendix for community agency grants is expected to be released on April 24, 2026, before the first budget reading on April 28.
  • Legislative budget hearings are scheduled for May 7, 2026 (8 AM to 5 PM), with a public hearing at 5 PM.
  • The meeting adjourned at 8:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. It is six o'clock, and I'd like to go ahead and uh call this meeting to order of our city council workshop on the grant process. Um we will begin with um Councilman Thomas leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and justice for all Mr. Johnson, will you please call the roll? Councilman Adams, Councilman Debartel Laban here, Vice Mayor Fugit. Here, Councilman Grant here. Councilman Helsley, Councilman Honeycutt. Here, Councilman Lloyd here. Councilman Parker and Councilman Thomas. Eight members present, Vice Mayor. Thank you. Um as we get started tonight, I just want to um kind of talk about the purpose of the meeting while we're here and the flow of the meeting. So grant making is a large and complex and multi-department process for the city of Knoxville. And as um we've never had a workshop like this that talks about the mechanics of the grant making process. And as we are on the eve of the budget, and um this is a good time to have this, and I appreciate the administration working to pull all these people together. And last time I look about 75 slides to try to explain this process. So I will turn it over to um Cheryl Ball here in a minute, but do want to say there is a lot of information at um as we go through this. I'm sure questions will come up. Some of them may be answered in subsequent parts. So jot them down, jot your questions down if you can, and then we can um ask questions at the end if if it hasn't been answered sufficiently throughout the presentation so that we can try to make this as smooth as possible. So thank you. I'll turn it over to you, Ms. Ball. Thank you, Vice Mayor Fugit. I appreciate you all having us here tonight. We're excited to share with you a little bit about the grant making process at the City of Knoxville. This is the agenda and the key topics we're going to review tonight. Uh, eligibility of agencies, city grant making overview, individual grant making program review, federal grant program review, an overall timeline and calendar, and community improvement funds. So that is the basic format for today's workshop. And to get things kicked off, I am going to turn this over to uh Kitheren Smith with the finance department, the deputy director of finance to share with us some of the eligibility details for the organizations that would receive money from the city of Knoxville. Kitrin. Thank you, Cheryl. Excuse me. When it comes to the city's grant making, there are three governing documents that we adhere to. First being the city code, specifically division two community agency appropriation guidelines. It references eligibility requirements to receive these funds, application and reporting requirements for the recipients of these funds. The second being Tennessee Code, specifically TCA 6-54-11, and that's titled The Appropriation of Funds for Nonprofit Organizations. I'm sorry, these types of appropriations. Next funding sources. The first being city funding, and that is incorporated in the city's annual budget process. An example of that will be our community agency grants, which we'll speak to a little later today with Jennifer Searle do that. And then we have our community safety and empowerment grants with La Kenya, we'll talk more detail about. And then lastly, a current copy of a W9 form. If for any reason a nonprofit is unable to provide all of this required documentation, we do require that they obtain a fiscal sponsor, and that fiscal sponsor then provides the required documentation. And as funds are dispersed, they'll be dispersed to the fiscal sponsor for use by the awarded nonprofit. That's okay. Okay. Yeah. Restart the presentation.

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