THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) - A more than $19 million grant is no longer coming to the Rose City after funding cuts from the federal government.

The grant was intended to help renovate the historic Douglass High School gym by turning it into a health and wellness clinic, along with improving outdated sewage systems. In addition, the funding was set to help residents repair old and unsafe homes.

“We did not do anything to deserve this,” Earl Williams with the Thomasville Community Development Corporation said. He helped secure the multi-million dollar grant with the City of Thomasville. “We didn’t do anything that was out of the boundaries of what we could do, so there was no negligence on our behalf.”

Williams said only a small percentage of the more than 2,000 grant applications were awarded, including Thomasville.

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WCTV obtained the letter sent to the city from the Environmental Protection Agency terminating the grant. It reads, in part, “The grant specified above provides funding for programs that promote initiatives that conflict with the agency’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness and excellence.”

Williams said when he heard the news, he was shocked. “That was not a good day for me or any of the people that are associated with the grant,” he said. “We worked really hard to get this. There was a very small chance that a place like Thomasville could get something like this going.”

Thomasville resident Joe Drew said he was looking forward to applying for home repair assistance. “I was disappointed,” he said.

His house was built in the 1920s, and needs upgrades for things like the HVAC system and weather strips.

“Mine is over 100 years of age, and it would’ve done wonders for my home,” Drew said. “There are many, many homes in Thomasville that would’ve benefitted from this grant.”

With many older homes owned by the elderly population, Drew said this grant was critical. “They don’t want to leave their home, and so this would’ve entitled them to have gotten back to a level of comfort,” he said.

Williams said last week the city filed an appeal with the EPA to, hopefully, reinstate the grant, but currently, they have not received a response. “I am, still, optimistic that we will prevail, and that we will get the grant back,” Williams said.

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