The Bland Board of Aldermen learned during their Monday night meeting that they have been awarded a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED).

In a letter to Mayor Lee Medlock on Sept. 25, from the DED Director Robert B. Dixon congratulated the community “for its efforts to enhance the community and strengthen its economy.”

The city previously lost a $500,000 CDBG that they were awarded by the state and trying to use to update the city’s water infrastructure. Due to time constraints during the bidding process, they were unable to rebid an “unacceptable bid.” Their engineer, Integrity Engineering’s Terris Cates, told them there was no way to meet the April 1 deadline.

“We don’t have any choice right now but to withdraw the $500,000 grant and move forward with the water project,” Cates said in March.

They were forced to return the $500,000 grant in lieu of applying for the $750,000 grant.

City officials were understandably nervous and reluctant to give up their first grant and considered paying the high bid because they were fearful of losing the grant entirely. However, Cates advised the board that they could not meet the grant’s deadline and their only hope was to apply for the larger grant.

Cates also advised that prices would go up in 2021 compared to 2020. The board wanted to know if the new grant was guaranteed.

“There are no guarantees, but Mike Hartman (with USDA) tells me it is just a paperwork thing,” Gates said.

Officials asked where they would be if they did not receive a new grant, and Cates said they would be hurting.

Aldermen agreed to move forward with withdrawing and reapplying for the other grant in March. The board’s attitude towards the news of receiving the larger grant was a mixture of relief and excitement. They will be able to move forward on the bidding process in the near future.