In 2022, this building located at 109-C Roseboro St. in Downtown Roseboro, was bought by town officials to be revamped in an ongoing downtown building rehabilitation project. Construction can now begin as the contract for the project was recently green lit.
File photo
ROSEBORO — Town officials took a leap forward toward furthering its “Growing Downtown Roseboro Roots, Building Rehabilitation Project,” after finally approving the contract for its Rural Transformation Grant.
The town board unanimously voted to accept the renegotiated Roseboro Affordable Rural Housing Transformation Project contract during its recent special called meeting. That vote came following the need of “a way out” being factored into the contract.
The topic was discussed during February’s meeting, as issues on how a potential fund freeze from the White House could cause financial strain on the town, should the RTG federal funding being used for the project be hit.
A problem that became prevalent as Mayor Alice Butler said the way the contract was written, at that time, was for the town to pay contractors for their work, which would then be reimbursed from the government. As a funding freeze could prevent that, talks of a contract negotiation were initiated.
“The contract, and the reason for that, is we’re paying for this with grant funds,” Sandy Sanderson, Roseboro attorney, explained during last month’s board meeting. “In the last two weeks, we’ve seen a lot of federal grants get canceled, postponed or frozen. My concern is if our grant money gets frozen.
“This contract is with a contractor,” he added. “They don’t care whether our grant money is frozen, and we would be obligated to pay that money, and we would be in breach of contract. And so, I want us to have a way out that we can stomach in the event that happens.”
During the special meeting, Sanderson reiterated to the board that the grant’s federal funding had already been received by the state and remains secured. Now with the negotiated contract, the town has its way out of the agreement, if RTG funds become unavailable, which town officials reportedly said should cause minimal negative impacts.
Negotiations were done through Progressive Contracting, and per the agreement, the town would have to pay a $5,000 penalty plus expenditures and 10 percent profit for the contractor.
With the details laid out, Butler requested a motion to approve the Roseboro Affordable Rural Housing Transformation Project contract with Progressive Construction. Commissioner Richard Barefoot made the motion to approve, a second came from Commissioner Cyndi Templin, and all voted in favor, carrying the motion.
With the contract complete, plans for the two-story 109-C W. Roseboro St. building the town purchased in 2022, through the RTG, can begin. Plans Butler said remain to be implemented, of two affordable apartments on the second floor and retail on the first. Also of note, Butler mentioned that a retail vendor for the space is currently undecided.
“We signed the contract for the Rural Transformation Grant for the building downtown, so it was a big day for us,” Butler said. “We finally signed that contract, so we’re excited to keep the project moving forward.”
Funds from the rehabilitation project were awarded in December 2022 in the amount of $825,000 to support the project’s completion. The funding came from a Rural Transformation Grant Fund, which was announced by Governor Roy Cooper, and was administered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Economic Development Division.
Cooper made the announcement on Dec. 14, 2022, stating that 42 local governments in rural areas across the state were awarded grants from the Rural Transformation Grant Fund — money that was part of the American Rescue Plan, signed by former president Joe Biden. The main focus of the grant, which North Carolina’s allotment totalled $19.76 million, was for supporting rural economic development projects across the state, to help local governments overcome challenges that limited their economic competitiveness.
“I am very thankful that we finally reached this stage where we can move forward with the actual building,” Butler said. “We’ve done all the background, brought in the architect, all that work, and to finally be able to start building realistically, is great. And the rural transformation building construction will probably start in May.”
Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.