City officials gave the green light to reimburse money that Turning Point Domestic Violence Services had given the city last year for an expansion and renovation project on their shelter.
The Columbus City Council voted 7-0 to approve the second reading of an ordinance to pay Turning Point $6,000 out of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) COVID fund.
Council members Frank Miller, R-District 4, and Jerone Wood, D-District 3, were absent.
During COVID, Turning Point experienced an increase in the number of people who needed use of the shelter, so Turning Point officials looked to increase their bed-count from 25 to 40 and make it ADA compliant, The Republic reported previously.
The city had allocated $232,618.23 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to the project, but after two rounds of bids the price of it still exceeded the city’s contribution.
At that time Turning Point gave the $6,000 to help with the cost, but once work on the renovations actually began, certain elements originally included during the bidding process were identified by Taylor Brothers Construction Co. as no longer being needed, according to city officials.
Assistant Director of Community Development Paul Smith told the council the move was simply to pay Turning Point back those funds they ended up not using.
