ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager and the Community Development Director with a Request to Approve the Allocation of $35,000.00 of CDBG ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDS to THE CHEF AND THE BAKER at 106 E. MCCLURE AVE. (Council District 3).
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BACKGROUND: The City of Peoria is considered an entitlement jurisdiction by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As such, funds from the Federal government, through HUD are allocated to Peoria on an annual basis. The City of Peoria receives three (3) grants - Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership Program and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG).
On September 10, 2013, City Council approved the allocation of $250,000 of CDBG funds to an Economic Development Program. Additionally, on October 14, 2014, City Council approved the additional allocation of $163,860 of CDBG funds for a total of $413,860 to the Economic Development Program. On January, 27, 2015, City Council approved the Economic Development Program guidelines. The CDBG economic development program is focused on creating jobs for low-income people. For each full-time equivalent (FTE) job created, the applicant is eligible to receive $35,000 of assistance.
There is a pending request to City Council from staff to reallocate the available CDBG Economic Development Program funds ($278,860) to public infrastructure projects identified in the 2016 City of Peoria Capital Budget. The pending reallocation will not affect the available funding for this project as staff deducted the potential grant award from the reallocation amount.
Ian and Karen Hocker opened The Chef and The Baker at 1122 E McClure Ave in July 2014. Since opening, the community has embraced the East Bluff business and the eatery has thrived. Sales grew 30% in the second year of operation and are expected to continue growing in years to come. The Chef and The Baker have outgrown their current leased space ...
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