BUENA PARK : Council Allocates $765,000 HUD Grant

More than $765,000 was distributed this week by the City Council under the Community Development Block Grant Program.

Earmarked to help low-income and disadvantaged people, the money is allocated to the city by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Twenty-five funding requests, totaling more than $1 million, were received this year.

Programs for residential and commercial rehabilitation received the highest grant of slightly more than $500,000. Most of the money will be used to provide cut-rate loans to homeowners willing to spruce up their property.

A grant of $50,000 was allocated to expand the city’s code enforcement program, and another $16,000 was granted to help fight an increasing graffiti problem.

Also vying for the funds were several service groups who each year line the council chambers asking for support. Ten percent of the total allocation is set aside to help the social groups, but as local governments continue to feel squeezed by dwindling funds, the amount could soon be decreased.

Councilwoman Rhonda J. McCune asked the council to consider giving more to city-based programs to keep the grant funds within Buena Park. She also suggested considering decreasing the allocation to social agencies.

“Maybe we are reaching a point that we can’t do it any more,” McCune said. “The way the budget is going, we have to ask, ‘Can we even give the 10%?’ ”

The council decided that next year it will discuss decreasing the allocation to social groups in order to help programs within the city. At one time, social groups received 15% of the HUD money.

Social agencies that were approved for grant funds included the Boys and Girls Club, which will receive $39,000 for new bathrooms, the Coordinating Council, which provides assistance to the needy, and the Feedback Foundation.

Denied grant requests were the Fullerton Interfaith Shelter, the Hotline of Southern California and the Mental Health Assn. of Orange County.