SIMI VALLEY : City Allocates Funds for Quake Repairs

Despite the pleas of charity officials, the Simi Valley City Council has decided to open its purse strings to a city public works project rather than to nonprofit organizations.

The council has allocated $645,817 of $778,956 in earthquake-related emergency grants from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to fix quake-damaged Tapo Street.

Representatives of Lutheran Social Services of Southern California, Catholic Charities and the Simi Valley Samaritan Center asked for funds to continue providing services to earthquake victims. The council members expressed sympathy, but were determined to fund the street improvements.

“It’s really difficult to sit up here and not give you that money,” Councilwoman Barbara Williamson said. “It’s a tough decision.”

In addition to the repair funds for Tapo Street, the council allotted portions of the HUD grant funds for a high-tech computer mapping system to speed disaster response times and for a revolving loan fund to help businesses hurt by the earthquake. The only nonprofit group to receive funding was the Preserve Bottle Village Committee, which received $2,100 to help prepare architectural and engineering plans for restoring the landmark folk-art installation.