Live Oak Park renovations, sidewalks likely for CDBG funding, $47,000 added for Clemmens Lane Park

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the recommended 2009-10 annual funding plan for Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnerships, Emergency Shelter Grant, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS programs.

The preliminary recommendations for CDBG funding include Live Oak Park renovations and sidewalks along Ammunition Road and Clemmens Lane.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote March 3 recommends $202,500 to renovate two children’s playgrounds and a picnic area at Live Oak Park, $77,500 for the engineering and design of sidewalks along Ammunition Road between Alturas Road and the shopping center known as Town Center, and $77,500 for the design of sidewalks along Clemmens Lane between Mission Road and Old Stage Road.

“We’re just happy to see the process continue and hoping we can get some good projects out there for the communities,” said Catherine Trout Lichterman, the director of the county’s Department of Housing and Community Development.

Community Development Block Grant projects are intended to revitalize lower-income communities.

The proposals were selected based on criteria which include 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.

The preliminary allocations are based on 2008-09 entitlement figures from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides funding for the programs.

Although the 2009-10 plan must be submitted to HUD by May 15, HUD is currently operating under a continuing resolution and the county has not yet seen its actual 2009-10 allocation.

The preliminary plan allocates $1,845,701 of CDBG funding to 20 projects in the unincorporated area, including the three Fallbrook projects.

Approval of the recommended plan includes a 30-day public review and comment period, and the plan will return to the supervisors May 5 for final approval before submittal to HUD.

The preliminary recommendations also reallocate CDBG funding from previous years for projects which have been cancelled or completed with funds remaining.

The funding will provide an additional $47,000 for the Clemmens Lane Park project as part of $306,530 obtained from previously funded projects which have been completed or cancelled.

The funding for the supplemental Clemmens Lane Park allocation was derived from the Fallbrook Community Center playground shade structures project, which was completed with $8,000 of funds remaining, and the shade structures project for Collier Park in Ramona, which was completed with a $39,000 balance.

The Clemmens Lane Park funding will provide for the construction of a covered picnic pavilion.

The Live Oak Park renovation would replace children’s play equipment in two play areas to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards and would also provide additional benches and picnic tables.

The $202,500 proposed allocation includes $2,500 for project oversight, and the renovation has an estimated completion date of April 2010.

St. Peter’s Organizing Ministry submitted a list of proposed sidewalk projects to the Department of Housing and Community Development along with priorities for the sidewalk projects.

The Ammunition Road project would provide for the preliminary engineering and design of curbs, gutters, and sidewalks on the north side of Ammunition Road from Alturas Road to Town Center.

The addition of approximately 600 feet of sidewalks would complete a sidewalk segment.

The design work itself has an estimated completion date of June 2010, and the county’s Department of Public Works estimates additional costs of $50,000 for right-of-way acquisition and $250,000 for construction.

The Clemmens Lane project would design curbs, gutters, and sidewalks on either side of Clemmens Lane between Mission Road and Old Stage Road.

CDBG funds for preliminary engineering and right-of-way were allocated in 2004, and the design phase is expected to be complete by June 2010.

Future estimated costs include $75,000 for right-of-way and $1,000,000 for construction.

Eight Fallbrook projects, including seven sidewalk proposals, were placed on the alternative list.

The remaining Fallbrook proposal relegated to the alternate list sought $250,000 for improvements to the Boys & Girls Club including a new swimming pool deck and sealer, permanent stairs at the pool’s shallow end, two tubular water slides for the swimming pool, repainting and re-plastering the pool restroom and installing new restroom doors, replacing 52 clubhouse windows with dual-pane windows, replacing approximately 8,000 square feet of roof, and replacing light bulbs with energy-efficient fixtures.

The sidewalk projects relegated to the alternate list were all preliminary engineering expenditures and sought $37,500 for Elder Street between Potter Street and Main Avenue, $25,000 for Aviation Road between Mission Road and Main, $15,000 for West Alvarado Street between Pasadena Avenue and Mission, and $35,000 apiece for Ammunition Road between Alturas Road and Mission, East Mission from Iowa Street to North Brandon Road, Elder from Mission to Main, and Old Stage Road from Clemmens Lane to South Mission.

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