Gallatin City planning staff opened a 30‑day public comment period Oct. 2 on a draft citizen participation plan and the city’s consolidated plan for 2025–2029, saying the plans will guide how the city uses Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars over the next five years.

Planning department staff said the city has placed a paper copy of the draft citizen participation plan on the lectern in City Hall and posted it on the planning department’s website, and that both plans were available for public review from Oct. 2 through Nov. 1. “This is for the adoption of the citizen participation plan and the consolidated plan for 2025 through 2029,” the staff member said.

The staff presentation said the draft consolidated plan concentrates proposed CDBG-funded public facilities projects in three eligible census tracts that meet the HUD definition of low‑ and moderate‑income areas and together comprise roughly 95% of Gallatin’s eligible census tracts. Staff identified proposed sidewalk and pedestrian-connection work along portions of Water Avenue, South Water Avenue, Bligh Street and North Magnolia, and said the projects would aim to link nearby elementary schools (identified in the presentation as Guild Elementary School, Viva Stewart Elementary School and Union Elementary School).

Nut graf: The consolidated plan and citizen participation plan determine how Gallatin would allocate federal CDBG funds that the city expects to receive annually; the draft prioritizes area‑benefit public‑facilities work (sidewalks and connections) in a limited set of census tracts while retaining the ability to amend the plan later to fund different activities, including eligible public services.

Staff described CDBG program rules and reporting requirements, noting that HUD limits how CDBG public‑service dollars may be used. The presentation said about 15% of the grant may be spent on public services, and used the grant size for program year 2025 to illustrate the limit: “It’s a $325,000 grant. You’re looking at 15% of that is maybe 40,000,” the staff member said. Staff also described the plan cycle: consolidated plans operate on five‑year cycles, annual action plans are renewed each year, and a CAPER (Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report) documents whether the city completed items it said it would in the action plan.

Staff told attendees that the city’s program year would start Aug. 1, 2025, and that the draft plans will be considered at a City Council work session in about two weeks. Staff said the consolidated plan can be amended later if the city chooses to redirect funding to other eligible uses.

During public comment, several residents questioned the proposed emphasis on sidewalks and connections. One resident who identified themselves as having run a local shelter urged the council to use funds for homeless services, saying, “The city has never helped me provide for the homeless ever ever.” Another resident cautioned that receiving federal grant money can impose significant administrative and reporting burdens on staff and that a narrowly prescriptive grant could result in projects that “nobody said they wanted.”

Members of the public asked for more detail on the sidewalk scope and cost. Staff provided an illustrative figure from the presentation, saying about a half‑mile of sidewalk would cost roughly $300,000, and reiterated that the city can pursue other eligible CDBG activities such as housing rehabilitation, demolition of substandard structures, or one‑time capacity grants to service providers within the 15% public‑service cap.

Staff also noted that the HUD local office in Knoxville has provided technical assistance during plan preparation. Staff emphasized that, if the city adopts the consolidated plan, specific projects and any funding allocations for a given year would still be set through the city’s annual action plan and could be changed via amendment.

Ending: The city will accept written comments through Nov. 1. The draft citizen participation plan and consolidated plan will be on the City Council work session agenda ahead of the program year that begins Aug. 1, 2025. Staff encouraged residents to submit feedback during the 30‑day comment period so the city can consider it before finalizing the plans.