City Narrows Down Block Grant Requests

The Simi Valley City Council has whittled a thick sheaf of funding requests down to a lean stack of grant proposals that could hook troubled youths up to computers, extend hours at a homeless shelter and teach high school students how to run a TV station.

The council worked late into the night Monday picking through more than $1 million worth of proposals to find the agencies and projects worthy of receiving $883,876 in Community Development Block Grants.

Rejected were requests by a for-profit nursing home that wanted $195,000 to replace a generator providing power to its 99 residents; a nursing-care company for the elderly that sought $500,000 for a $9-million apartment complex, and the Simi Valley Historical Society, which requested $12,700 to build a storage facility for artifacts.

But the council gave tentative approval to these projects:

* The Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley asked for $27,600 to start a program that teaches youths how to repair donated computers, which will be loaned to other youths.

* The Center for Attention Disorders is seeking $5,000 for scholarships for children suffering from hyperactivity and Attention Deficit Disorder.

* The Samaritan Center requested $17,000 to extend the hours of its shelter for Simi Valley’s homeless.

* And the Simi Valley Broadcast Academy sought $56,800 to set up a 1,400-square-foot television studio where TV industry veterans could teach high school students their trade.

The council also tentatively agreed to spend $324,566 on street repairs, $100,000 on the blighted Tapo Street business district and $33,500 to hire someone to write grant applications for the city’s nonprofit groups.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which gives money to help with low- and moderate-income housing, infrastructure and community programs.

The council will take a final vote on the projects May 5 after a public review period.