The City of Fresno has voted to initiate litigation against the Poverello House, a local nonprofit, over a failed tiny homes project. The project, which was supposed to provide about two dozen tiny homes for homeless residents, has been plagued by issues with the contractor, PreFab Innovations Inc.

Background

In 2023, the City of Fresno entered into a contract with the Poverello House to build the tiny homes. The city committed about $2 million to the project, with $965,000 coming from the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and $1 million from the state’s Encampment Resolution Funding grant.

However, the project has not moved forward as planned, and the city is now seeking to recoup its funding. The Poverello House has blamed the contractor, PreFab Innovations, for the delays and has offered to refund the city’s $1 million in state funds.

Contractor Issues

PreFab Innovations has been accused of bad business practices by multiple past business partners, including the Fresno Rescue Mission, which housed the company in a downtown Fresno warehouse. The mission’s CEO, Matt Dildine, said that PreFab Innovations failed to pay rent and left the property in disarray.

The California Attorney General’s office has also filed a complaint against PreFab Innovations, seeking to strip the company’s owner, Dave Clevenger, of his contractor’s license.

The FBI has been investigating PreFab Innovations, and the Poverello House has been cooperating with the investigation. The city’s lawsuit against the Poverello House has been met with confusion and frustration from the nonprofit, which claims that it has been transparent about the issues with the project.

Original reporting: Fresnoland — read the source article.