Hillsborough County commissioners on Oct. 1 approved awards under the county’s Historic Preservation Challenge Grant Program but pulled one recommended applicant for further review after commissioner concerns about the organization’s age and project purpose.

Ron Barton, presenting the item, told the board that the evaluation committee recommended awards to 16 applicants but that staff, after a conversation with Commissioner Joshua Wostel, removed Turbo Dog Holdings LLC from the list for further vetting. Barton said the motion package was revised from 16 awards to 15 and that the dollar total in the motion would be revised accordingly.

Barton also said three resolutions were required under the county’s outside‑agency capital funding policy because some awards exceeded $100,000; the manager and budget office had performed the required higher‑level analysis and staff attached a form grant agreement for execution.

Commissioner Wostel raised concerns about the removed applicant, noting the entity was created roughly 18 months earlier and appeared to have purchased a dilapidated church property; he expressed worry the grant might enable a private, for‑profit conversion rather than a public preservation purpose and said the program’s budgeting and policy language were unclear to him. “I appreciate you removing this one item and hopefully we can address this because this is countywide property taxes,” Wostel said. Commissioner Chris Bowles said he was leading a board effort with staff and legal to review and clean up the county’s policies.

Commissioner Gwen Myers moved approval of the revised package; the motion carried 7‑0. The board authorized the county administrator or designee to execute grant agreements for the 15 approved applicants using the attached form agreement. Turbo Dog Holdings LLC was not approved and will be the subject of additional due diligence before any award determination.