An estimated $204,189 will be available for distribution to the groups, said Alma Penalosa, a Housing and Community Development management analyst.
Some of the organizations that applied for funds include Women Helping Women, which asked for $25,000; Serving People in Need, which asked for $38,000 — the most of any single applicant; Human Options, which asked for $30,830; and five other organizations that serve seniors, which asked for a combined $77,500 in grant money.
The ad-hoc committee will make its recommendation to the full committee March 23. This will then go before the City Council in April for a vote.
The balance of the block grants usually goes toward other projects and programs in the city that serve identified low-income areas, such as street beautification and improvements, and providing disabled people with better access, Hatch said.
This year, city staff is proposing that the block grant money go toward 11 programs and projects, but the City Council must approve them before staff may allocate the funds.
One of the proposals calls for setting aside $20,000 for a tool rental program. The tool rental program would allow nonprofits to apply for up to $500 to rent cleaning tools and help improve an area within the city, such as the outside of an elderly person’s house, for example, Hatch said.
Another program would set aside about $150,000 to plant trees and reconstruct parkways in low-income areas along the city’s right of way.
