Weirton Seeking CDBG Input
By CASEY JUNKINSWEIRTON - Residents have one more chance to express their views regarding how city officials should spend this year's $627,092 worth of federal Community Development Block Grant money.
The city will hold a public hearing concerning fiscal 2009's federal CDBG allocation at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Room 201 of the Weirton City Building, 200 Municipal Plaza. Following the public hearing, City Council is expected to vote on final approval of the plan during the 7 p.m. May 11 meeting.
In addition to the standard $495,303 worth of regular CDBG money the city is receiving, Weirton will gain $131,789 via the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This brings the city's total for fiscal 2009 CDBG funds to $627,092.
CDBG money can be used for three purposes: to directly benefit low- to moderate-income neighborhoods; to remove slum and blight throughout the city; and to meet urgent needs in the case of a natural disaster, such as a flood or tornado.
City Manager Gary DuFour previously said the city plans to devote the entire $131,789 in stimulus CDBG funds to pave several streets in low- to moderate-income areas of Weirton.
DuFour noted that deciding which programs and organizations receive the federal money is an arduous process.
"We had many social organizations ask for money that we just could not fund. ... We looked at how many clients each organization serves and determined how we could achieve the most," he recently said.
The city's current plans call for $55,000 to be used for program administration; $25,000 for the city's five-year consolidated plan; $2,500 for fair housing promotion; and $2,500 for the city's Human Rights Commission.
An additional $40,000 would be used to purchase new fire rescue equipment; $56,000 would go to street paving on Wall Street; $37,000 would be used for the East Weirton sewer project; $25,000 for a sprinkler system at the Weirton Senior Citizens Center; $10,000 would be used for paving at the Hancock County Sheltered Workshop; $8,600 would go to the Brookline Tot Lot; and $1,950 would be used to provide a ramp at Healthways Inc.
A total of $40,000 would go to the city's inspections department to enforce building codes, with another $53,753 allocated for building demolitions throughout the city.
The CHANGE Inc. Community Action Partnership would receive $66,000 for rehabilitation and $7,000 for the Mario T. Pipinos Center under Weirton's plan.
The Seeing Beyond Foundation would receive $2,500, with another $2,500 going to Energy Express, a six-week summer program for school children in low-income neighborhoods across West Virginia.
The Weirton Senior Citizens Center will receive $5,000 for utility payments, with the Comfort House set to receive $4,000.
The Weirton Park Board would gain $8,000 for recreational passes, with the Community Bread Basket gathering $4,000.
The Dunbar Neighborhood Center would receive $14,000, with Weirton city social services gaining $10,000.
A total of $15,000 would go to the Weirton Police Department to fund a foot patrol program.
"The foot patrols will be used during the summer months from early evening to late night in downtown areas," the city manager previously said.
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atoddh
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04-27-09 4:39 PM
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Where is the seed money for new business-the problem??
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ConservativeKaty
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04-27-09 9:44 AM
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Carcinogenic Water: An Urgent Need and likely caused by slum and blight of the aging infrastructure. Spend all CDBG money on that, as it makes no sense to give a poor family new siding on their rundown house if the water they drink could kill them.
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