The Pilot Point City Council began making a creative move to secure grant monies for the Square during its meeting on May 22. The Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grants Program, which is connected to the National Parks Service, could give the city $600,000 to $700,000 to put toward historic buildings on the Square but is locked behind the Certified Local Government status.
“Pilot Point is not a CLG, but because we are in Denton County, and Denton County is, we can get the local judge to allow us under their CLG to apply for this grant which then goes into our historic district so we can pass it through to people who want to have an opportunity to increase the values on their buildings,” City Manager Britt Lusk said. When introducing the discussion, Lusk also explained the item was brought to him by Mayor Pro Tem Andrew Ambrosio, who then took over with details.
“The majority of the grants available to the contributing buildings on our Square are not brick and mortar grants,” Ambrosio said. “Most of them are property tax abatements and franchise tax abatements. One of the only brick and mortar grants I found through my research was this grant.” Mayor Chad Major asked if this grant has been used by any other cities in Denton County. “There is actually an interactive map of where these grants have been given, and there has only been one given in the State of Texas,” Ambrosio said. “I don’t know if it’s just because cities don’t know about it, but a ton have been given on the East Coast, but it’s all
through the country.”
Council member Brian Heitzman asked if going to the judge for permission could run the risk of Denton or other cities in the county learning about the grant and scooping the city.
“We’re running the risk of that, but we don’t have a CLG, so we’re not able to apply for it anyway without using their CLG,” Ambrosio said.
Council member Brian Murrell turned the line of questioning to staff, asking what it would take for Pilot Point to attain the accreditation itself.
“The CLG is through the Texas Historic Commission, so it just involves an arduous application process, but we do currently have all the benefits of being a CLG because we are in Denton County and we can use their CLG status for any grants,” Main Street Director Wendy Adkins said.
Murrell turned back to council for his follow up, asking if the process and stipulations that come with a municipality becoming its own CLG would be advantageous.
“I personally think so,” Ambrosio answered, “Because anytime we want a CLG grant now we have to go to the county, whereas if you are a CLG, you can get a grant yourself, and there are a lot of grants that are available only to CLG cities. Wendy is correct in the sense that we can use the umbrella of Denton County’s CLG every time we want to use it though.”
While council didn’t venture too deeply into the process citizens might need to take to be awarded those grant monies, since this was only a preliminary discussion about beginning the process, Ambrosio shared some of his thoughts on the matter when asked.
“I think we would have criteria with what they’re doing to the buildings and how they’re doing it,” Ambrosio said. “The grant is specific to contributing buildings, so it’s not like any building on the Square would qualify, it would have to be contributing to our historic district.”
Council member Ray Dane chimed in before the vote with a succinct endorsement.
“Sounds like we ought to get after it before someone else grabs it,” Dane said.
Council unanimously authorized staff to start the process by asking the county judge for permission to use the CLG to apply.
