City council begins discussion on CDBG funds

Barring major changes in the coming weeks, the city of Portland is expected to be the big winner in the annual Community Development Block Grant sweepstakes.

Some 40 agencies, businesses and city departments applied for nearly $2.6 million in CDBG funds, but the City of Portland is in line to receive the lion's share of program funds.

City Manager Joe Gray has recommended that various city departments receive more than $1.8 million of the $2.6 million available, even as 16 social service agencies aren't recommended to receive anything.

Gray is recommending $470,000 for the city's Planning and Urban Development department for "administration," $182,000 for the city's Housing and Neighborhood Development division for residential housing rehab, and another $116,000 for the "Healthy Living, Healthy City" program operated out of the inspections and code enforcement division.

Some $60,000 would be earmarked for the city's Recreation and Facilities Department, to be used for the express purpose of "Enhancing neighborhood safety by using recreation to build better relationships." Another $370,000 in funds were recommended for sidewalk construction and the Portland Police Department was recommended to receive $196,000 for community policing programs.

Other city projects tentatively approved for funds include $118,000 to complete phases two and three of a Dougherty Field redesign and $128,000 for a behavioral health program for the homeless, to be run through the city's department of Health and Human Services.

Over the past three years, the city's CDBG program has been changed significantly. A committee is now charged with scoring each CDBG application on a range of criteria, with the scores being used to rank programs and determine whether they will receive funding.

That committee submits its tentative list to the city manager, who then offers his own list of programs that he feels should be funded. The city council has final authority, and can deviate from both the committee's recommendation and the city manager's. It will vote to allocate CDBG funds in a few weeks.

To be sure, many local social service agencies are recommended to receive funds. Preble Street's shelter and food programs are in line for nearly $150,000, Wayside Soup Kitchen is set to receive $31,000 for its new neighborhood-based programs, and St. Vincent de Paul Society was awarded $20,000 for its soup kitchen.

Others recommended to receive funding include: Southern Maine Agency on Aging, PROP, the Frannie Peabody Center and Cultivating Community, among others.

In an unusual move for Portland, a for-profit business is in line to receive funds. After being bypassed last year, the Parkside restaurant Hot Suppa! is set to receive $66,000 to expand its kitchen to allow for dinner service. Moses Sabina, the owner of Hot Suppa!, said Monday he expected the money would lead to eight new "sustainable" jobs.

Seven programs that received funding last year won't receive any this year without intervention from the city council. The Children's Co-Op preschool, which was awarded $8,500 last year, wasn't recommended to receive funding this year. Neither was the East Bayside Neighborhood Organization, Mercy Hospital's "WECAN" program and Amistad Peer Support Center.

LearningWorks, which has received funding in the past, was among the agencies that implored the council to amend the list of funded programs. An official from the West End nonprofit told councilors that the agency felt they were shortchanged by the committee's scoring process, which left them only one-tenth point away from the next highest program, which was funded.