GILROY
– Rule changes in a federal grant-giving policy that days ago
worked against Gilroy’s effort to bring a monetary boost to
downtown will soon be used as a loophole that just may win the city
$240,000 in aid.
GILROY – Rule changes in a federal grant-giving policy that days ago worked against Gilroy’s effort to bring a monetary boost to downtown will soon be used as a loophole that just may win the city $240,000 in aid.
The Economic Development Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is recommending that the City of Gilroy end its effort to win the downtown revitalization grant, and let the Gilroy Economic Development Corporation apply. Since federal rules prohibit a municipality from winning two grants within a five-year time frame, the nonprofit Economic Development Corporation has a much better chance of landing the grant.
Wendie Rooney and John Greenhut, the city’s Community Development directors charged with landing the grant, said the Economic Development Corporation would apply for the money by the end of this month. They said the EDA will announce as early as March if Gilroy will be getting the grant.
“We really want to stress how helpful our EDA representative (Diane Church) has been,” Greenhut said. “She has been fostering this whole process. She’s given us mor00rat.”
If the money is granted, Gilroy will use it to create long-term planning guidelines for downtown, known as the downtown specific plan. The guidelines could spell out things like zoning restrictions and incentive packages officials would use to plan an aesthetic and economically vibrant downtown.
The $240,000 will be tacked onto $80,000 of seed money City Council set aside for downtown revitalization. The city has already used $10,000 to hire its own grant consultant, Mark Davis, to steer the process.
Like Gilroy officials, Church was unaware that EDA officials in Washington, D.C. adopted the policy precluding cities from winning a planning grant if they had won one in the previous five years. In 1999, the city applied for and received a $75,000 grant to study the best re-use of the old cannery.
After the EDA decided not to grant Gilroy the latest funding, frustrated city officials considered an appeal. They argue that since the city applied before the five-year limit was adopted, Gilroy’s application should be grandfathered and considered solely on merit.
Thanks to the new approach, that appeal is unnecessary, at least for now.
