A $500,000 grant to build a community center in Dobbins Heights must be applied for again.
Announced in November, the grant was initially applied for in January 2012 and will come from a North Carolina Community Development Block Gran-Catalyst Project Grant.
At the public hearing on Jan. 10, Pat Crissman of the Wooten Company said the reason for re-applying was that Dobbins Heights missed a step when putting the paperwork together for the NC Catalyst Grant. The step that was missed, according to Crissman and the unofficial minutes of the meeting, was that the first public hearing was not advertised as it was thought to have been. The Division of Community Assistance has allowed the town to reapply for the grant, Crissman said.
Crissman said in the meeting that a Catalyst Grant is a “grant from the Division of Community Assistance to build a community building in Dobbins Heights next to the Dobbins Heights Park. It is federal money that comes through the state.”
Mary Magee, the Dobbins Heights town clerk, said that the center will be a multi-purpose building.
Blueprints have yet to be made, said Dobbins Heights Mayor Antonio Blue, but the building will probably hold classrooms and other areas. “We want a building that would seat 250 to 300 people,” Blue said.
Blue said he wants a place that is designed to be used for people of all ages.
According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s website, the Division of Community Assistance contributes to North Carolina Community Development activities. The DCA provides resources and services for economic prosperity, growth management, and customized community development assistance.
Another public hearing to discuss the center will be held on Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. at Dobbins Heights Town Hall.
— Staff Writer Laura Edington can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at ledington@civitasmedia.com.
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