Fernley is beginning to narrow down how it might compete for a share of approximately $2.9 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding expected to be available to rural Nevada communities in 2027.
At its Aug. 19 meeting, the City Council reviewed three potential projects ranging from work connected to the city’s water treatment plant to improvements at In Town Park and development of a new city strategic plan.
But none of those projects has been selected for funding yet.
The Aug. 19 hearing was only the second of three required public meetings in Fernley’s 2027 CDBG application process. Residents and community organizations can still propose additional projects through Oct. 15. After eligibility is reviewed by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the council is scheduled to rank and select projects at a final public hearing Nov. 18.
The final grant applications are due Feb. 19, 2027.
CDBG is a federal program intended primarily to benefit low- and moderate-income residents while supporting community infrastructure, economic development and planning.
Nevada’s program is administered by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Fernley is one of 26 eligible rural jurisdictions competing for the anticipated $2.9 million available in 2027.
Eligible projects can include improvements to streets, sidewalks, water and sewer systems, drainage, parks and public facilities; community planning; economic development; job training; removal of environmental hazards and certain nonprofit programs.
Fernley has received more than $2.2 million through the CDBG program since 2002. Previous grants have helped fund Main Street beautification, phases of the Depot Community Center, downtown revitalization work, business counseling and training programs, community assessments and the Community Response and Resource Center.
The city currently has no open CDBG grants and is allowed to have as many as five open grants at one time.
City Grants Administrator Trisha Livingston said several ideas have been discussed since the first public meeting July 15, but some did not meet federal eligibility requirements. Three projects identified so far do meet the program’s national objectives.
The first is environmental work connected with the city’s planned Water Treatment Plant upgrade.
Fernley has already contracted with CDM Smith to design improvements to the plant, a process expected to take roughly 20 months. The city intends to pursue federal funding for construction once the design is completed.
Because use of federal construction funds would require compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, the city could seek CDBG money to pay for the required environmental review.
The estimated cost is $75,000 to $150,000. The project would benefit Fernley water customers, particularly low- and moderate-income households.
The second proposal combines a new community needs assessment with development of Fernley’s 2027-2032 strategic plan.
The city’s current five-year strategic plan expires this year.
The community assessment would examine Fernley’s strengths, assets, needs and challenges and compare current conditions with where residents and city leaders want the community to be in the future. Those findings would then be used to develop a new strategic plan setting city goals, priorities and measures of progress for the next five years.
The estimated combined cost is $125,000 to $225,000.
The third proposal involves In Town Park, Fernley’s oldest and most centrally located park.
The city is considering seeking CDBG money for a preliminary engineering report examining parking and sidewalk improvements along the south and west sides of the approximately 4-acre park.
The work would not build the improvements. Instead, the engineering report would establish the design and groundwork needed for a later capital project.
The park has already been identified as a high-priority project in the city’s Parks Master Plan. Staff estimated the engineering work at $75,000 to $125,000.
The council voted 4-0 to keep the three projects moving through the review process along with any other eligible proposals received before the deadline. No members of the public spoke during the Aug. 19 hearing.
The next step is eligibility review.
Project ideas must be submitted to the city by Oct. 15 so they can be forwarded to the state by the Oct. 16 eligibility deadline. City staff will then refine the eligible proposals and cost estimates before bringing them back to council Nov. 18.
At that meeting, council members will rank the projects and decide which applications Fernley will actually submit for the competitive 2027 funding.
No city funding commitment or matching appropriation has been approved at this point. Any required match would come back to the council later in the process.
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