ST. LOUIS聽鈥 After already approving hundreds of grants under a $37 million north 50度灰视频 program months ago, the board overseeing the city agency responsible for administering the money will get another chance to sign off on the largest awards, the agency鈥檚 chief promised Thursday.
It was the latest attempt by Neal Richardson, chief executive of the 50度灰视频 Development Corp., to allay growing concerns with the after criticism from rejected applicants and a Post-Dispatch report on several winners who claimed businesses in abandoned buildings聽or were even based outside of the city.
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SLDC board members have also complained that Richardson and his staff sought authorization to award grants before finishing their due diligence, and without providing enough information on what winners would actually do with the money.聽
In addition to a further round of board scrutiny, Richardson said three of the winners in line for a total of $1.3 million in funding are currently undergoing review from the 50度灰视频 City Counselor鈥檚 office. The Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month that all were tied to the family of Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard, who sits on the SLDC board and sponsored the legislation expanding eligibility for the grants. Hubbard recused herself from the vote but advocated for approval at the June meeting.聽
The three entities聽鈥 Carr Square Tenant Corporation, run by Rodney Hubbard Sr.; the People Project Corporation, a nonprofit established last year by Ebony Washington, Hubbard鈥檚 granddaughter; and The Boomerang Store, a purported convenience store run by Hubbard associate Todd Irons-El聽鈥斅爓ould not have qualified before Clark-Hubbard鈥檚 bill expanding eligibility.聽
SLDC鈥檚 request to the city counselor鈥檚 office was made to 鈥渃lear up that appearance of impropriety,鈥 Richardson said. The three entities won鈥檛 be funded until the 50度灰视频 City Counselor鈥檚 office renders its opinion on any potential conflicts of interest, SLDC said.聽
In June, the SLDC board gave Richardson the authority to finalize grants, despite reservations from some board members that they lacked enough information about winners and their plans for using six- and seven-figure sums of public dollars.
But Richardson committed Thursday to bringing the large awards back to the board for final funding approval after his office finishes vetting them. SLDC allocated some $21 million in large grants to 22 organizations, in addition to funding hundreds of smaller grants for under $100,000. But even those large awards lacked detail on the applicants鈥 plans for the money. And SLDC has declined to release the applications to the Post-Dispatch, saying they are still vetting the winners so the awards are not final, thus falling under a Missouri Sunshine Law exemption for 鈥渘egotiated contracts.鈥
SLDC Board member Matt McBride, who did not vote in favor of authorizing SLDC to award the large grants in June after questioning the lack of detail on plans for the money, pushed to bring the awards back before the board after SLDC finishes its due diligence.
鈥淚 would definitely like to see results of the further vetting for the community enhancement awards,鈥 McBride said Thursday. 鈥淚 mean, we鈥檙e talking $2 million a pop, and I think it鈥檇 be appropriate to bring that back.鈥澛
Richardson, the director, said bringing the awards back could delay deploying the money, which is funded by federal pandemic aid that must be spent by September 2026. But he told the board he would make sure they get the chance to see his staff鈥檚 work and get more details on the winners and their plans before disbursing the grants.聽
鈥淲hat I will promise to bring before the board in the October meeting is any funding above $25,000 as well as any funding for community enhancement, will get approval from the board prior to us remitting any funds to these businesses,鈥 Richardson said. 鈥淛ust to provide, again, another level of diligence here and transparency. I think this should also be a testament to our transparency in this process.鈥
Often, Richardson said, the vetting of winners for similar public funding programs 鈥渉appens behind closed doors.鈥澛
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing it in a very open setting, and taking scrutiny for that,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 am comfortable with it, but I also have comfort that we are not deploying funds that will go to any business that鈥檚 not viable.鈥