03/13/1985 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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e Ms. Bascom suggested bicycle connectors be included with pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the description of the CIP activities. Ms. Schue said the permanent CDC will refine the three-year plan on a yearly basis and allocate CIP funds. e Mr. Miller wondered if the funds are assured and how the budget will be reduced if the funds are reduced. Mr. Weinman said the City's grant is budgeted for $1,299,000 for next year. No one knows what Congress will do about the grants. Mr. Weinman did not think the council should be greatly concerned about a reduction now. If a reduction is small, each category may be reduced a little. If a reduction is large, the CDC will probably recom- mend changes to the council. Ms. Ehrman urged the other councilors to approve the three-year plan. She noted funds for the Joint Social Services will be increased. She is on the Joint Social Services Budget Committee. It is hard to allocate the limited funds because they are needed by so many agencies. Ms. Wooten will support the plan, but she said it is important to note it demonstrates a shift away from improvements to the inner city. Revitaliza- tion of the inner city neighborhoods as they lend themselves to new activi- ties in downtown is not complete. There is still much to do in the city's neighborhoods. She is not leaving her commitment to neighborhood improve- ment. She is looking for improvements to the employment problem which is as important to people with low and moderate incomes as the habitat in which they live. She was concerned about the lack of flexibility for individually funded projects. She noted some say the administrative costs of small projects are too great. She thought the City may lose opportunities by eliminating that category completely from the three-year plan. She thought the City should be able to undertake some of those projects when they are needed. Replying to a question from Mr. Obie, Ms. Schue said the council had decided to allocate 10 percent of the Community Development Block Grants for social services in the fall of 1983. At that time, Federal regulations limited the City to 10 percent for social services. The Federal regulations have now increased that limit to 15 percent. The Interim CDC decided to follow the Federal regulations. The direction is that the funds should be used pri- marily for capital improvements to social service agencies because of the Federal regulations. Social Services are a part of economic development. The percentage of funds to be allocated for social service agencies changes because of the needs of other projects. Answering a question from Ms. Bascom, Ms. Schue said the staff thinks admin- istrative costs can be cut from 20 percent to 16 percent in three years. Mr. Obie appreciated the increased percentage for social services. He said the loan fund is one of the financial aids the City has for recruitment of new businesses and development of existing businesses. He congratulated the Interim CDC on its work. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1985 Page 10