Shelby commissioners instruct lobbyist in Washington to seek out blight funds

The Shelby County Commission on Monday approved 10-0 a resolution that directs its Washington lobbyist to seek out grant funds to fight blight.

The add-on resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Heidi Shafer, asks GS Proctor & Associates to “identify any and all possible grants and/or funding opportunities for the eradication of blight within high poverty areas” of the county.

“I believe they can help us identify some really, really good sources of funding,” Shafer said.

There are 13,000 structures and vacant lots just within the city of Memphis that qualify as blighted, according to an estimate by local anti-blight advocacy group Neighborhood Preservation Inc.

Although he was supportive of the resolution, Commission Chairman Terry Roland noted that the lobbyist should also be directed to look for any grant programs for other areas, such as economic development, that would help the county.

The commission also approved $100,000 in funding on behalf of Juvenile Court and the Juvenile Intervention and Faith-Based Followup (JIFF) for an evening reporting center, a juvenile probation program.

Funds for the program were approved in the fiscal 2016 budget, which passed in last July, raising concerns with some commissioners during a committee meeting last week about the delay in the funding request.

During that meeting, the resolution was amended to require Juvenile Court and JIFF to report back to the commission about its progress at the June 1 commission meeting.