Neighborhood Groups List Development Projects

Seven South Side neighborhoods have submitted plans for spending nearly $350,000 in federal community development money.

The requests are part of the annual allocation of federal grant money to Spokane’s lower-income neighborhoods.

Money will go for such things as playground equipment, sidewalk repair, street tree replacement and social services.

Sheri Faulks, community development coordinator for the city, said Spokane is unique in allowing neighborhood committees to allocate money to projects in their own neighborhoods.

Most cities have centralized decision-making rather than letting individual neighborhoods choose how to spend the money, she said.

Across the city, about $1 million is allocated by steering committees. That’s part of the $4.5 million in community development block grants received by Spokane each year from the federal government.

The neighborhoods must follow federal guidelines for spending. The money goes to improve the quality of life in lower-income areas, Faulks said.

In one case, Peaceful Valley committee members went door to door surveying their residents about how to spend the money.

Allocations vary by neighborhood.

East Central gets the largest amount at $144,000. Three smaller neighborhoods receive $25,000.

Up to 15 percent of the money can be spent on public-service programs.

Here is a rundown of the requests and amounts from the South Side:

Browne’s Addition, $40,500.

The money would go for the children’s summer park program, $2,600; Institute for Neighborhood Leadership, $1,200; neighborhood cleanup, $2,275; sidewalk repair, $18,000; street trees, $3,225; lighting at Cannon and Pacific, $1,000; play equipment at Coeur d’Alene Park; $9,000; salary for neighborhood coordinator, $1,200; and newsletters, $2,000.

The park money would be used to build a play area for younger children.

Downtown, $59,400.

All of the money is being spent to help nonprofit social agencies.

It includes ARC of Spokane, $5,490; Crosswalk, $2,000; House of Charity, $2,000; Mid-City Senior Center, $2,000 (for social services); Mid-City Senior Center, $25,000 (for relocating the center); Women’s Drop-in Center, $2,000; Youth-Family-Adult Connections, $910; and YWCA, $20,000.

The YWCA is planning gymnasium renovations and elevator repair.

Latah Creek, $25,000.

Money would go to Project Joy, $300; Public Safety Activities League, $1,500; a viewpoint and bench on Inland Empire Way, $3,200; and sidewalk repair and construction, $20,000.

East Central, $144,000.

A long list of allocations includes East Central Youth Employment Program, $7,750; East Central Community Center equipment, $3,700; East Central COPS, $6,600; Institute for Neighborhood Leadership, $1,200; Project Joy, $500; Martin Luther King Center Summer Youth Academy, $1,600; and 1st Step Services, $250.

Also, home rehabilitation, $70,000; walk-in freezer for community center, $4,000; community center expansion, $47,200; and salary for neighborhood coordinator, $1,200.

The center expansion would be for a low-income dental clinic.

The senior center also could be expanded. Currently it operates inside an old school gymnasium. Money would be spent on plans for adding a second story inside the gym.

Peaceful Valley, $25,000.

The neighborhood proposes spending money on housing rehabilitation, $8,000; playground equipment at the Peaceful Valley Community Center, $3,000; community center improvements, $5,000; money to help buy historic property, $1,750; salary for community center director, $3,750; and neighborhood newsletter, $3,500.

Lincoln Heights, $25,000.

Allocations include housing rehabilitation, $15,000; paving subsidies, $6,250; Project Joy, $1,000; Express program, $1,250; and neighborhood cleanup, $1,500.

Historic Cannon’s Addition, $25,000.

Money would go to neighborhood cleanup, $1,750; Institute for Neighborhood Leadership, $1,000; Spokane PAL, $1,000; sidewalk repair, $12,250; a neighborhood park security surveillance system, $8,000; and street signs declaring Cannon’s Addition a drug-free zone, $1,000.

The requests must be approved by the city’s Community Development Board and then accepted by federal officials. The allocations become available after July 1.

, DataTimes