Commission approves redistribution of Emergency Solutions Grant funds
The Shelby County Commission has approved the redistribution of grant funds to better meet the needs of local agencies. During its Dec. 12 meeting, the commission approved a resolution that would redistribute funds from the Emergency Solutions Grant, which was awarded to the county from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
The budget for this grant is made about 18 months in advance, said County Manager of Community Services Reggie Holloway, and the funding comes later on.
“What happens is things have changed in our community, and our needs have changed,” Holloway said. “So what we have to do now is basically redistribute that funding so that we can use that up.”
The redistribution increased SafeHouse’s Rapid Re-Housing funding from $11,970 to $16,191, with an overall budget increase from $83,790 to $88,011. The redistribution also allowed Shelby Emergency Assistance to redistribute about $13,355 from its rapid re-housing budget line item to a different part of its budget, which includes efforts aiming to prevent homelessness.
“With our agency, we have had a lot of clients who are more in need of prevention of homelessness, and whereas SafeHouse has had more folks who are homeless and needing to get placement, so we’d like to share some of our funds with SafeHouse so this can be accomplished,” said Karen Pendleton, executive director of Shelby Emergency Assistance.
The commission unanimously approved the resolution.
The commission also approved two resolutions regarding a tax exempt revenue obligation for the Greystone and Alabaster YMCA locations. This will not affect the county’s general obligation debt, said County Manager Alex Dudchock, but allows the YMCA to secure the best rates it can on financing for different projects. A public hearing was held before the commission made a decision, and no one spoke for or against the resolution. Ann Watford offered to answer any questions on the resolution, and there were none from the commission.
During his report to the commission, County Engineer Randy Cole presented a letter from the Alabama Department of Transportation regarding the county’s roads. The letter provided a grade for the county’s road maintenance, which was determined following review of the 2016 Shelby County Maintenance Reports. The county received a 90.83, with no reports falling into the “unsatisfactory” category.
Cole also noted that the county’s lowest grade on a report was around an 83.
Also during the meeting, the commission:
- Awarded bids for asphalt as well as seed and fertilizer for the highway department.
- Heard a report from Water Services Manager Michael Cain, who said there is still an “exceptional drought” in the area, but recent rainfall has been helpful.