On Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Rick Gray reported on the City’s planned uses of Federal Economic Stimulus money. The choice of allocations indicates a focus upon reducing the effects of the drooping economy and softening the blow for those already affected.
Both the City and the County were allocated over $2 million in “homeless prevention funds” ($720,000 for the City; $1,300,000 for the County). This money, according to Gray, may potentially be pooled together: “We’ve begun discussions with the County to combine the allocations….This will reduce administrative costs, allowing the funds to be used for services to prevent homelessness.”
Nearly $1 million has been allocated to the Lancaster City Housing Authority (LCHA) for “improvements to public housing facilities.” Specifically, these improvements will occur at the Church Street Towers, located near the intersection of S Duke and Church Streets. According to a member of the LCHA Staff, these improvements will include updating the building’s elevator system and installing new, more energy-efficient windows as extensively as possible.
According to Gray, a “significant allocation of funds” will be made available for Workforce Development Training: “The Lancaster Workforce Investment Board has enlisted employers to provide summer jobs for teens, trained and paid by the Workforce Board. The City will be participating in the program by providing summer employment for nine candidates over a six-week period.”
Out of the County’s $3.8 million allocation for Energy Efficiency and Conservation, the City will receive $575,900. Also, the City will be allocated an as-yet-unnamed amount of funding from Community Development block grants. Gray stated that these dollars would be directed toward improving blighted or vacant properties using “green construction methods.”
