Ashland approves HUD consolidated plan submission, allocates $75,000 in CDBG operating grants to local nonprofits

The Board of City Commissioners of Ashland, Kentucky, voted to authorize the mayor to submit the city’s 2025–2029 consolidated plan and the 2025 annual action plan for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and, upon HUD acceptance, to execute related grant documents. The board also approved six CDBG operating subrecipient agreements totaling $75,000.

The approvals matter because HUD acceptance of the consolidated plan and the annual action plan authorizes the city to distribute CDBG funds for operating costs to local service providers. The board approved operating grants to Ashland Community Kitchen Inc. ($15,000), the Board County Council on Aging (d/b/a Ashland Senior Center) ($15,000), Community Assistance Referral Service, Inc. (CARES) ($15,000), First United Methodist Church ($5,000), Hillcrest Bruce Mission ($15,000), and Safe Harbor of Northeastern Kentucky ($10,000).

Each ordinance was moved, seconded, and adopted by voice vote. One commissioner declared a recusal during the consolidated plan vote; the transcript records the recusal but does not identify the commissioner who recused.

No substantive debate or amendments to the grant amounts or recipients are recorded in the available transcript. The actions recorded were formal adoptions of ordinances authorizing the mayor to sign grant agreements and related HUD submittal documents.

The CDBG program provides federal funds to support community services and operating costs for local nonprofit providers; acceptance by HUD is required before associated grant agreements may be executed on the city’s behalf. The ordinances approved at the meeting direct the mayor to complete those steps if HUD accepts Ashland’s plans.