COSTA MESA : Survey Seeks Input on Grant Fund Spending

Low- to moderate-income residents here will be surveyed in the first week of December to determine where they think federal dollars should be spent under the Community Development Block Grant program.

Urban and environmental planning consultants from Pasadena plan to distribute two-page surveys to residents at two neighborhood meetings, said Karen Warner, a senior associate at Cotton/Beland/Associates Inc.

The dates and sites for the meetings have not yet been announced. The survey will ask where community improvements, such as street repairs, should be made and allow residents to rank their choices in order of importance, she said.

It will seek opinions on public facilities, such as youth centers or centers for the disabled, and whether there should be more of them. Residents will also be asked about handicapped, health and transportation services.

The survey is a new requirement by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. It must be finished and approved by cities across the country before the grant money can be released, City Manager Allan L. Roeder said.

The city is scheduled to receive $1.2 million in funding next year, roughly the same amount it was given this year, Roeder said.

He said he thinks the old way of conducting a survey, through a citizen advisory committee, was just as effective, but added that the new federal requirement is an effort to gather broader community participation.

But the city, with only one employee assigned to the distribution of these funds, was forced to hire the Pasadena consulting firm to conduct the survey at a cost of $21,000. The survey should be completed by January.