The county will review resident input when determining how to spend $8 million dollars on community-oriented projects and services.
Plant City residents got a chance to tell county representatives what they want to see accomplished in both the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World and Hillsborough County at a community meeting on Tuesday, March 8.
Hillsborough County representatives, including Community Services Program Coordinator Maureen Calderaro and Mike Langston, of Langston Associates, held four meetings in Hillsborough County to determine the needs of residents. Resident input was collected through surveys and will be taken into account as Hillsborough County begins to make its five-year consolidated plan for 2016 to 2020. In the survey, residents were polled on the needs for affordable housing, recreation activities, childcare services and infrastructure improvements, among others.
Prior to the county’s four public meetings, which were held in Tampa, Ruskin and Plant City, the Hillsborough County Affordable Housing Services Department made a presentation on March 2, to the Hillsborough County Commission. The next presentation to the County Commission will be in July, when the department will present the survey results.
The goal of the countywide meetings were to help the department determine how to spend some of the state and federal funding that it receives. Annually, the county receives $8 million dollars from the United States Department of Housing & Urban Development. Out of this funding, about $5.5 million dollars goes to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, which is focused on the public improvements needed in a given area. Up to 15% of the funds from the CDBG program can be used for parks, playgrounds, community centers and other public facilities. The remaining funds must be used on public services, including education, drug abuse programs, economic development and other community-oriented programs.
“(Eight million) is nowhere near enough to meet the needs,” Langston said. “The goal is to target and spend those resources well.”
The remaining $2.5 million dollars from the state funding are allocated to the HOME Investment Partnership Program, which is focused on housing rehabilitation and down payment assistance, and the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program. The ESG program converts unused buildings to homeless shelters, and uses its funding to prevent homelessness. Out of the state funding, $2 million dollars goes to the HOME Program and the remaining $450,000 goes to the ESG Program. Once received, the funding must be spent within 18 months.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
At the March 8 meeting, which had about 20 attendees, residents spoke freely about what services they thought would best serve the community. Many mentioned further funds going toward the creation of a homeless shelter, which Plant City currently does not have. Others mentioned the need for a facelift on the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, and housing rehabilitation in communities of color.
Natalie Brabson said that one of her top concerns was the need for a homeless shelter. Though the Winter Visitor Center on Dort Street feeds the homeless and those in need on a daily basis, homeless residents in Plant City
frequently turn to creating camps in the woods behind businesses and in surrounding areas. Still, Brabson added, preventing homelessness is equally as important.
“Funding for affordable housing is my number one issue,” she said.
Tina Long wants to see more dollars spent in some of the city’s more dilapidated communities, especially in the predominantly African-American neighborhoods.
“My biggest issue is that there is not enough funding in the black community,” Long said.
Langston and Calderaro took notes on residents’ concerns at the meeting. Once the surveys are analyzed, the department will create a market analysis and a strategic plan for the funds. Then, the department will create an angle of action plan that will create specific focuses on needs with dollar amounts.
The county hopes that such outreach will encourage residents to speak up about the needs in their communities. Last year, $150,000 tagged for economic development was leftover and reallocated to another program.
Langston hopes that about 400 residents will complete the survey to determine needs in the county. The survey is available online. The plan will go to the Hillsborough County Commission on Wednesday, July 20.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
