Grants & Programs Citizens Committee

The Grants & Programs (GAP) Committee is an ad-hoc advisory committee that annually reviews proposals submitted in the form of applications for Community Development Block Grant Funds (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership Program Funds (HOME), funds which the city receives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annually. The GAP Committee makes recommendations to the City Council, solely in an advisory capacity, about which proposals should be approved and to what extent. The Grants & Programs Committee is a thirteen (13) member Committee with representation from three functional areas:

1. Representation from Neighborhood Associations. Five members are directly appointed from neighborhood associations with boundaries within urban renewal areas (surrounding the Central Business District) where there is a predominance of low- and moderate-income households.

2. Representation from Organizational Interests. Three members are directly appointed from specific organizations of related interest. These comprise the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, the Linn County Continuum of Care Planning & Policy Council, and the Linn County Local Homeless Coordinating Board.

3. Representation from At-Large Citizens. Five members are directly appointed by the Mayor with one each to represent the four quadrants of the City, plus one community-wide representative.

Duties

By program, (CDBG & HOME), the GAP Committee recommends to the City Council which proposed activities should be funded and, respectively, for how much. The City Council may either accept, reject, or modify the Committee’s recommendation(s) and approves a preliminary Action Plan that is made available for at least a 30-day public review and comment period, also with Public Hearing. A comprehensive schedule of the consolidated planning process, including public review / comment, hearing, and Council action dates is directly conveyed to all applicants.

Citizen Participation Plan

The Citizen Participation Plan outlines the policies and procedures for the GAP Committee.

Citizen Participation Plan

Current Members

All terms are annual running from July 1 -June 30

Neighborhood Associations

Mound View Neighborhood Association
No Representative

Northwest Neighborhood Association
No Representative

Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood Association
Dorothy de Souza Guedes

Taylor Area Neighborhood Association
Virginia Rice

Wellington Heights Neighborhood Association
Dan Borngraeber

Designated Organizations

Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance
No Representative

Linn County Continuum of Care Planning & Policy Council
Ashley Balius

Linn County Local Homeless Coordinating Board
Shawn DeBaar

Council Appointee Representatives
Brian Johnson
Tara Walker
Carly Henderson
Marcus Ramirez
Julie Hubbell

Meeting Information
The Grants & Programs Citizens Committee typically meets on Zoom on Thursdays at 4:00 P.M. with public attending in person at City Hall located at 101 First Street SE, beginning in February or March and lasting until all applications have been reviewed and recommendations to City Council are ready to be made. Periodically, the Grants & Programs Citizens Committee may need to reconvene to discuss special circumstances that sometimes arise.

GAP Committee Agenda and Minutes