Representatives of the Sedona Community Food Bank, awarded a portion of Community Development Block Grant funds, will ask Sedona City Council members to approve alterations to their $150,000 project Tuesday, May 10.

Those changes came following City Council’s approval on how the funds should be distributed. Council originally voted to approve disbursement of the CDBG funds during its regular meeting Jan. 26. While originally intending to work in conjunction with the Sedona Community Center, the Sedona Community Food Bank will now seek council approval on two possible alternatives — remodel or expansion of the current food bank or construction of a new building at its current location at the Seventh-day Adventist Church property.

According to Audree Juhlin, assistant director for the city of Sedona Community Development Department, a number of issues became apparent following council approval.

“After council approved the collaborative effort between the food bank and the community center, the food bank board met to talk about what was required for the application,” Juhlin said. “The more they met, the more issues became apparent.”

A decision was later reached to stay at the current location, an idea also supported by members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Juhlin said.

The Sedona Community Center was awarded $150,000 in grant funds, as was the Sedona Community Food Bank, for improvements to both programs. Both projects vied for $370,000 in available CDBG funds issued by the Arizona Department of Housing Regional Account through the Northern Arizona Council of Governments.

A third project in line for the CDBG funds, the city’s housing rehabilitation and replacement program, will receive $30,000 in funds, Juhlin said. The Sedona community, she said, receives CDBG money every four years.

An estimated $40,000 in remaining CDBG funds, Juhlin said, would be used for NACOG and city administrative costs. Sheree Bouchee, program specialist with NACOG, said the decision to change the request came following a consultation with an architect on the expansion.

“It was determined that the expansion for the community center would require a two-story building,” she said. “The food bank found that the public is better served with a one-story building. That’s why they wanted to ensure that one of their options was to design a new facility, or to build a new facility.

We’re just bringing that forward to council to see if they agree with the changes. We’re still keeping the community center collaboration as an option. But we want to have as many options as possible for the food bank.”

While CDBG grant money can be used for different projects, at least 51 percent of those who benefit from those projects must be low to moderate income.