Hollister Mayor Pauline Valdivia, who has been on the city
council since 1998, acknowledged to the Free Lance that $722,000 in
leftover federal funds
– which must be exhausted before the municipality can reapply in
an annual process for more block grants –
”
should’ve been spent
”
by now.
Hollister Mayor Pauline Valdivia acknowledged to the Free Lance that $722,000 in leftover federal funds – which must be exhausted before the municipality can reapply in an annual process for more block grants – “should’ve been spent” by now.
Valdivia, who has been on the city council since 1998, responded days after a Free Lance story revealed the city has yet to spend $722,000 in unencumbered federal funds left from a pool of about $1 million – remaining from reimbursements on loans given out in the mid-1980s – and that the balance has been the cause of Hollister’s ineligibility to reapply in the annual federal block grant process.
Valdivia is the longest-serving council member while in her fourth term. She acknowledged knowing for many years about the issue with the city’s ineligibility to reapply for Community Development Block Grant funds. But she could not explain why the city has held on to the money for so long – while the list of eligible uses is broad and includes basic services such as sewer and street repairs.
The federal awards – which the state disburses to local communities – typically have been for $400,000 or $500,000 in years past with a current state maximum of $800,000. About 70 percent of the CDBG funds go toward “entitlement communities” in urban areas, while “non-entitlement” jurisdictions such as San Benito County and Hollister must apply and compete with others for the rest.
Hollister has been barred from reapplying since at least the early part of the 2000s.
“It should’ve been spent – I agree,” Valdivia said. “It’s project income. We have to spend it.”
Valdivia recalled how city officials in 2004 realized they had the pool of around $1 million and that they put together the “re-use plan” required by the state at the time. The city put it together, and it merely included designating 25 percent of the funds to housing, 25 percent to local nonprofits, and 50 percent toward economic development.
Most of the remaining funds are comprised of those designated by the city toward economic development, while Hollister has failed to spend the leftover $722,000 during a recession and in a community especially harmed by the housing crisis.
In reflecting how she has known about the money, Valdivia even pointed out how some of the funds directed in 2004 toward nonprofits went to Jovenes de Antano, where she is the longtime executive director. She didn’t have a precise amount donated, but the senior organization used a portion of the CDBG funds to renovate one of the group’s freezers, she said.
She also pointed out how CDBG funds are supposed to target lower-income groups. But she acknowledged there are areas of Hollister, such as the west side, which could use the help.
“I can’t answer the question why we waited so long,” Valdivia said. “I don’t want to tell you something I’m not positive about.”
She went on: “As far as I’m concerned, we have to look at it and see how we can – we have to spend it.”
Hollister Community Development Director Bill Avera last week estimated that officials since 2004 have broached an estimated “five or six” credible project ideas for use of the funds.
Since 1996, meanwhile, San Benito County has received about $5.9 million in CDBG funds. In more recent years, much of the county’s money has gone toward support of community organizations such as the homeless task force, the Emmaus House, the food bank and the YMCA. Other projects in recent years have included job-training vouchers, rental assistance, and work to water lines and fire hydrants at the Southside Road migrant center.
