The parking lot at the Ripon Senior Center could soon get a makeover.
The Ripon City Council recently directed Planning Director Ken Zuidervaart to put that on the top of the list in the funding allocations for the annual Community Development Block Grant.
“In the past, the City has spent grant funds on upgrading and installing handicap ramps at street intersections, which was a limited list to choose from because of the limited area for use of CDBG funds,” Zuidervaart said at the Aug. 8 session.
Since then, he noted, a Block Group identified within the City has been able to expand these federal funds to resident and public work projects.
CDBG program – part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – is a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique development needs.
Zuidervaart indicated that there’s $208,000 in CDBG funds to spend. “Of that, at least $85,000 must be expended by April 2018 or the City will be in jeopardy of losing funds to another jurisdiction,” he added.
The Senior Center project was one five projects that Zuidervaart recommended.
The others were the Ripona Area Pavement Project (estimated cost at $660,000); Miscellaneous Alley Improvement Projects ($220,000 per alley); Handicap Ramps ($15,000 per ramp, seven altogether) at Pine Street, Elm Avenue and Locust Avenue; and the Sidewalk Installation Project ($171,000) in the old downtown residential area and parts of town with missing sidewalks.
The Senior Center parking lot is estimated at $30,000 and would include slurry sealing and restriping.
Elected leaders also suggested using the CDBG funds on Handicap Ramps and the Sidewalk Installation Project.
A public hearing on the redistribution of the funds is scheduled for a future meeting.