Requests high, funds low for South Portland grants

SOUTH PORTLAND — South Portland’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Committee has a tough row to hoe, with $127,602 in public-sector requests from a dozen different agencies, including some city departments, but only $58,000 available to give.

“I don’t know why I volunteered to put myself in this awful position of having to decide who doesn’t get something,” said committee member Don Legere, “because all of the proposals are very worthy. They all provide great services to the community.

“Unfortunately, some aren’t going to get what they’re looking for,” said Legere. “It’s nothing personal, it’s just a result of us trying to balance everything.”

According to South Portland Community Development Director Eric Carson, when the city was invited to disband its own block grant program in 2007 and go in under the umbrella of the county, it made a deal under which it gets 23 percent of the annual CDBG allocation to Portland, made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Because of cuts on the federal level, that allocation is down 12 percent this year, to $447,238. Of that, 20 percent goes to administration costs, including part of Carson’s salary. Another 15 percent is allocated to public services, while the remainder is dedicated to public infrastructure projects. Other eligible projects include housing, economic development and planning.

Infrastructure awards this year are expected to be the Ocean Street/Cottage Road sewer separation project ($125,000) and the Mill Creek Park redesign ($100,000), both slated to get under way this summer.

In both the public service and infrastructure awards, money must be awarded in city census tracts where at least 51 percent of the population is considered to be “low and moderate income.” The latest federal definitions set that at an annual income between $57,850 and $72,300 for a family of four.

Citywide, between 36 and 41 percent of all families qualify as low- to moderate-income. Neighborhoods eligible for CDBG funds under the 51 percent rule are Ferry Village (66.2 percent), Pleasantdale (60.7 percent) and Red Bank (59 percent). However, Carson notes that other areas, like Knightville/Mill Creek (32 percent) qualify because they have pockets that are more than 40 percent. There are seven of these block groups throughout the city that, with the full-tracts eligible for funding, account for 4,284 people.

“We have more people with more need than we have ever before,” said Carson. “We have less funds than ever before. If you go to the food shelters, they’ll tell you, there are people in suits coming in now asking for help.

Hoping for assistance this year, from highest request to lowest, are:

• The South Portland School Dept. for its 21 Club  – $16,000.

• City of South Portland, for the Red Bank Village Resource HUB  –$15,140.

• The Southern Maine Agency on Aging for Meals on Wheels – $15,000.

• City of South Portland, for general assistance – $15,000.

• The Community Counseling Center for its Trauma Intervention Program – $15,000.

• The Opportunity Alliance for its foster grandparent program – $10,462.

• Family Crisis Services, for administrative support – $10,000.

• City of South Portland, for recreation scholarships – $10,000.

• Skillin Elementary School PTA for its Snack Pantry – $7,500.

• Boys and Girls Club of Southern Maine, for transportation of children – $5,000.

• City of South Portland, for its bus pass program – $4,500.

• Easter Seals, for the Center for Therapeutic Recreation – $4,000.

Carson said the committee will review the applications at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28 in the City Council chambers.