CDBG plan to fund Community Center, sidewalk projects

The County of San Diego’s 2007-08 Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Shelter Grant, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS annual funding plan will include money for the Fallbrook Community Center playgrounds and for design of sidewalks on East Alvarado Street and East Elder Street.

A 5-0 vote April 24 by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved $135,000 for playground shade structures at the Fallbrook Community Center, $100,000 for the design of East Alvarado Street sidewalks, and $35,000 for the preliminary engineering and design of East Elder Street sidewalks. Other than reallocation of money from the previously-completed Live Oak Park pavilion project, the Fallbrook allocations are unchanged from the recommendations at the March 13 preliminary hearing.

The Fallbrook playground funding will construct and install shade structures made of textile fabric at two playground areas of the community center. The shade structures will block out 98 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays in the summer and will channel rainfall away from play equipment and children in the winter. The shade structure project has a February 2008 completion estimate.

The East Alvarado Street sidewalk project will fund the design and right-of-way acquisition for sidewalks, curbs, gutters, and minor drainage improvements on the south side of East Alvarado Street from Potter Street to Mercedes Road. The 2006-07 CDBG funding included $35,000 for preliminary engineering for the installation of sidewalks on the south side of Alvarado Street from Potter Street to one-half mile west of Mercedes Road. The 2007-08 CDBG funding will provide partial funding for the project; the county is expected to supplement the CDBG funding with $100,000 in gas tax revenue to cover the $200,000 cost estimate of the phase covered in the CDBG allocation. The county’s Department of Public Works estimates future construction costs to be at $400,000. The extension of sidewalks on Alvarado Street will provide a continuous walking path for pedestrians using Alvarado Street for La Paloma School, Fallbrook Hospital, and the health clinic. The design and right-of-way acquisition phase has an estimated completion date of June 2008.

The East Elder sidewalk project will fund the preliminary engineering and design of a sidewalk on the north side of Elder Street from South Brandon Road to the easterly parking entrance of Fallbrook Hospital. The sidewalks will increase safety on Elder Street between Brandon Road and the hospital for pedestrians who use the hospital and surrounding health-related facilities. The estimate $70,000 cost of the work will also include $35,000 in county gas tax revenue, and the county estimates future construction costs to be $150,000. A June 2008 date has been given for the project’s completion estimate.

Two projects elsewhere in the county were added from the list provided at the March 13 preliminary hearing. Supervisor Ron Roberts had expressed a desire at that hearing to fund improvements at the Phoenix Academy substance abuse recovery facility in Descanso, and county Department of Housing and Community Development staff indicated a willingness to determine if funds might be available. A 2005 decision to fund a parking lot at the Campo Community Center was superseded by a subsequent decision to construct stormwater improvements at that community center first.

Changes between the preliminary and final recommendations often include reallocation of CDBG funding from previous years for projects which have been cancelled or completed with funds remaining. Funding for the Phoenix House parking lot and the Campo stormwater project was derived in part from reallocating the 2005-06 funds for the Campo Community Center parking lot. The remainder of the funding was derived from reallocation of completed projects which had received 2005-06 funding; the Live Oak Park pavilion was one of those projects and had a balance of $27,177 which was reallocated.

The Community Development Block Grant funding is provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Community Development Block Grant projects are intended to revitalize lower-income communities. The proposals were selected based on criteria which included benefit to lower-income residents, health and safety considerations, the ability to leverage block grant funds into additional revenue, and availability of alternate funding sources.