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Council covers new budget, housing issues |
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Saturday, 16 May 2009 |
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By Mike Bodine
Register Staff
5-14-2009 Monday’s Bishop City Council meeting was a busy one, with more road work news, discussion of a possible Citizen Award, preliminary discussions of the 2009-10 Community Development Block Grants, the retention of consulting services from Mammoth Lakes Housing and the presentation of a two-year fiscal budget, something new for the city.
Rick Pucci, city administrator, told the council that it would be trying to draft a two-year budget based on advice from the state. With the rocky and uncertain fiscal outlook, Pucci said the state is recommending smaller entities try to budget out two years instead of the usual one.
He said the budget is very conservative and there are many cuts, but the “service package” offered to citizens will remain the same. He was impressed by the city staff in being able to think “outside the box” in coming up with imaginative ways to offer the same number of programs with cuts to the budget Pucci said.
He said it was a very proactive approach and, hopefully, an effective means of retaining stability, for now and in the future.
Pucci wanted to make sure city staff was given credit for doing such an extremely difficult job and doing it well.
Public hearings on the budget for 2009-11 are scheduled for 4 p.m., Thursday, June 4.
There was also a hearing held Monday to receive public input on available Community Development Block Grants, and there will also be additional public hearings on the grants. These annual grants, offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are competitive, yet there’s great flexibility in what the money can be used for. One of the only basic criteria is that no less than 70 percent of CDBG funds must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income residents.
Pucci explained that in the past the money has been used to help fund programs such as the senior housing on MacIver Street in Bishop.
The only person to comment publicly at Monday’s meeting was Pam Hennarty, executive director for Mammoth Lakes Housing, Inc.
Hennarty urged the council to use the CDBG for payment assistance to first-time home buyers.
The city will also be contracting the services of Hennarty and Mammoth Lakes Housing to assist in state mandated monitoring services of the Willow Street apartments. As the city loaned money to the apartment project, the state requires the property undergo annual inspections. These inspections include the property grounds and tenant leases to make sure things are “up to par” at the property.
Other happenings at the council meeting included:
• The bid award for construction of the Grove Street Sidewalks Project was given to the lowest bidder, Beebe Construction of Sacramento, beating out Marzano and Sons General Engineering of June Lake. Council members were visibly displeased that the contract was not awarded to a local firm, but Public Works Director Dave Grah said Beebe does have a reputation of hiring local workers.
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church was granted a permit to construct an 1,800 square-foot covered patio on the church grounds at 849 Home St. Representatives from the church said the patio would serve as a place for people to enjoy a peaceful moment or lunch, but not for wedding receptions or other parties that might create excessive noise.
• Triad/Holmes associated was given the go-ahead to execute additional testing for the Wye Road Intersection Project. The project is partially funded by Caltrans and as such a hazardous waste study is required. This test was not included in the original contract with Triad and so the council approved an additional $11,800 for the inspection work.
• A Beautification Award was granted to Eddy’s Auto Upholstery at 281 E. South St.
• Richard Harries was recognized for his 15 years of public service on the Bishop Planning Commission.
• The council also bounced around the idea of establishing a quarterly Citizen Award. A committee was formed to iron out the logistics.
The next scheduled meeting of the council will be Tuesday, May 26.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 10 July 2009 )
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