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TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1999 <br />Vote: 5-0 <br /> <br />Yeas: (5) Crabtree, Dallas, Haskell, Roop, Teague. <br /> <br />Nays: (0) None <br /> <br /> Council next considered adoption of a Resolution authorizing the preparation and filing of an <br />application for a 1999 Planning Grant under the Virginia Community Development Block Grant Program <br />to address housing and community development needs for the old R. P. Thomas property. Mr. Ken Poore <br />of K. W. Poore and Associates was present to explain this item and answer questions. Mr. Poore stated <br />that the application in question was for planning funds in the amount of $23,500, to provide a planning <br />effort related to development of the former R. P. Thomas site on Fayette Street. He also noted that efforts <br />would also be made to discover ways to obtain additional capital funding from the State and study <br />potential uses of properties along streets facing the site. Mr. Poore stated that there were two components <br />to the proposed process, consisting of a neighborhood evaluation and a marketability study. He then <br />pointed out that the Resolution contained language that recognized the City's expenditures and efforts <br />already expended on the R. P. Thomas property, and that the document provided authorization for the <br />City Manager to file the application. Mr. Poore then stated that the current Moss-Barton project was <br />about 80% complete, and that this application and work would in no way diminish the efforts to be made <br />on the Southside redevelopment project and the application for that work. Vice Mayor Teague then asked <br />if planning grant fund applications were in direct competition with capital gram, and was told that this <br />was not the case. Mr. Poore stated that 2% of annual funds from the program were set aside for planning <br />grants only, and that there was no competition between planning grant efforts and capital grants. Council <br />Member Haskell then asked how the planning effort might help capital funding for the project, and was <br />told that it would help to position the City well for capital funding later. Mr. Poore characterized the <br />project as a housing production effort, and stated that although such a project might get less funding than <br />a rehabilitation project extra effort would be made to overcome this. After additional discussion on the <br /> <br /> <br />