08 Desk Item - Community Grant Funds FY 2006/07MEETING DATE: 4/03/06
N ITEM NO. g
DESK ITEM
, COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
SOS G.pS°g
DATE: April 3, 2006
TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL
FROM: DEBRA J. FIGONE, TOWN MANAGER
SUBJECT: CONSIDER THE ALLOCATION OF COMMUNITY GRANT FUNDS FOR
FY 2006/07
A. REFER ALLOCATION OF FY 2006/07 GENERAL FUND GRANTS
TO THE FY 2006/07 OPERATING BUDGET.
B. ADOPT A RESOLUTION ALLOCATING FY 2006/07 COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FUNDS.
Attached is a letter from Lee Fagot encouraging support of the Community Services Commission
recommendations. Also attached is an email from Richard Lowenthal, Mayor of the City of
Cupertino, requesting that the Council consider funding the proposal from Cupertino
Community Services.
Attaehments,
1. Letter from Lee Fagot
2. Email from Richard Lowenthal
PREPARED BY: REGINA A. F
Community Servi' 'iregtor
N:\CSD\TCRPTS\2006 TCRPTS\CDBG Desk llem.wp
Reviewed by: 5 Assistant Town Manager /YzTown Attorney Clerk Finance
Community Development Revised: 4/3/06 11:53 am
Reformatted: 5/30/02
I,
Lee Fagot
845 Lilac Way
Los Gatos, CA 95032
408 358 8165
April 1, 2006
Los Gatos Town Council
Main Street .
Los Gatos, CA 95031
Gear Los Gatos Town Council,
APE' 0 3 '2%16
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nA
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
CLERK DEPARTMENT
I am writing this letter as I am not sure I will be able to attend the meeting April 3 to
present in person, and therefore ask you accept this letter for public testimony during the
discussion of Community Grant Funding.
As the Council reviews the budget for the upcoming year, and we all recognize the
unstable sales tax projections for Los Gatos the next few years, I ask that you consider
getting the maximum bang for your spending.
This is the I e year I have participated, for A PLACE FOR TEENS, in the Community
Services Grant process. And, more than ever, having listened to the other agencies
present each of their proposals, and report on their accomplishments from last year, I
am impressed at the community benefit so many of these agencies provide. Further,
because so much of the service they deliver is developed, managed and dispersed by
volunteers, there is no better money you can spend. These folks provide time, insight,
courage and heart for their fellow citizens- The moneys requested often are for some
required prdfessional staff, critical supplies and those items they cannot round-up
themselves. Volunteerism stretches these dollars like no government agency, or, most
likely, any other spending you are authorizing.
I am NOT asking for additional funding for any agency in particular, but do ask you to
work the total town budget to ensure that, at a minimum, the money the Community
Services Commission allocated to these agencies is funded. The Community Services
Commission takes seriously their charge, and works within your guidelines and budget
to investigate and allocate. Please consider providing any additional moneys available
as you finalize the budget to the Community Services Commission so they can allocate
as they deem appropriate. The Town is a direct beneficiary.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Lee Fagot
ATTACHMENT 1
Debra Figone - CDBG funding plea
From: "Richard Lowenthal" <Rchard@lowenthal.com>
To: <dmcnutt@losgatosca.gov>
Date: 3/31/2006 11:49 PM
Subject: CDBG funding plea
CC: "'Naomi Nakano-Matsumoto"' <naomin@cupertinocommunityservices.org>, "'Dolly
Sandoval"' <dolly@dollysandoval.com>
Dear Mayor McNutt,
I'm writing to encourage you to consider committing some of the Los Gatos CDBG funding to
Cupertino Community Services (CCS). CCS is a poor name for an organization that provides services
to needy people in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, and West San Jose.
CCS is the United Way Emergency Network provider for Los Gatos and that is how we came to provide
support to your fine city.
I hope that you're aware that nobody in Los Gatos needs to go hungry. They are welcomed at the CCS
food pantry to get the food they need. I hope you are also aware that CCS will provide nutritious meals
and a safe and warm place to sleep for homeless men from Los Gatos.
CCS estimates that in the coming year, 10% of the clients of CCS will be from Los Gatos. Last year
they provided food to 288 people from your city. They distributed 16,607 pounds of food to Los Gatos
residents. They provided over $12,000 in rental, utility, and cash assistance to people living in Los
Gatos that were having a hard time making ends meet.
Cupertino, San Jose, and Saratoga provide funding to CCS now. We hope you will too. If you don't,
we will continue to take care of your residents in trouble, but to us it seems only fair that you help too.
At the City of Cupertino, we rely on CCS to take care of our needy because the agency does it well and
leverages our funding through the use of other grants and volunteerism.
By the way, CCS would love to have a Los Gatos representative on its board. In that way, someone
with the best interests of Los Gatos at heart could ensure that your money is well-spent.
I know that your staff is recommending against providing any funding to CCS. Their reasoning is that
you've never funded them before, and with CDBG funding cuts, you shouldn't start funding them now.
But CCS has been serving your residents for many, many years without help from Los Gatos. We hope
you see that it's time to finally step up.
Thanks for reading this lengthy mail.
Sincerely,
Richard Lowenthal
Member, CCS board ATTACHMENT 2
Mayor, City of Cupertino
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