Some grants to help pay for the renovation of the Bobo Brazil Community Center in Benton Harbor will be formally considered by the Benton Harbor City Commission next week.

We’ve reported the city has been awarded a $500,000 grant by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and a $16 million grant by the Environmental Protection Agency to fix up the now-shuttered facility. The Benton Harbor Economic Development and Parks Committee discussed both at length this week. In particular, the EPA grant, which specifies the city use Bobo Brazil as a resiliency center, was of concern. That prompted many questions by the committee. Commissioner Duane Seats said everything’s got to be above board.

“There’s a lot of other things that are layers, and I want to make sure that the layers all come through the commission,” Seats said. “There’s a lot of people in the community that are stating that they’re getting money out of this grant that we’re receiving.”

City Manager Alex Little said there are basic needs at Bobo Brazil, like roof work and new windows, that need to be taken care of before any use for the facility will be possible. He said the resiliency center will be something that comes about once the building is habitable.

Among other things, the resiliency center would provide job training, help residents make their homes energy efficient, and be used for disaster relief.

The full Benton Harbor City Commission will consider acceptance of the grants at its next meeting.