On Feb. 7, Greater Gardner Coalition members Ed Rast, Kevin Christman and Norma Mendez attended a Community Development Block Grant Program meeting on behalf of four different neighborhood associations, including the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, to apply for a $2.2 million grant that would be used to repair the neighborhoods' most-damaged streets and sidewalks.

The Community Development Block Grant Program awards money it receives from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and those funds are administered locally by the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services.

"These are roads that get a fair amount of traffic every day," Greater Gardner Coalition Chairman Kevin Christman said. "Some sinkholes are so big that they are beginning to damage the foundation of homes."

San Jose Redevelopment Agency development officer Elyse Egan authored the grant on behalf of the group. She said fixing the area's seven worst streets could be completed by December 2006 if the grant money is awarded.

Christman says he feels confident about the group's funding chances because it "did its homework." The coalition presented the Community Development Block Grant Program steering committee with a detailed presentation that included information from an independent soil study and repair-cost estimates conducted by the San Jose Department of Transportation.

At the meeting, committee members told Christman, Mendez and Rast that it isn't standard practice to award community development block grants for street repair, noting that the grant is not designed for routine maintenance, but acknowledged that the streets had been neglected for too long.

In fact, Rast said, Community Development Block Grant Program steering committee member Lisa Jensen apologized on behalf of the city for the damaged roads that went without repair for so many years. And, Rast added, two other members were amazed that the group even had to ask for money for street maintenance. The committee is composed of 10 appointed members—one city council member, a senior citizen commissioner and citizens from Districts 3, 5, 6 and 7. District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager chairs the committee.

Mendez said that although 75 to 100 different groups are seeking grant money, she is convinced the steering committee will recognize the neighborhoods' problem as a top priority.

"I've had six good friends who have rented or sold their homes because of the street and sidewalk problems," she said. "Getting the streets repaired has been my biggest passion."

According to a "top 10" list of priorities the Greater Gardner Strong Neighborhoods Initiative compiled, repairing deteriorated streets and sidewalks is the No. 1 problem plaguing the Greater Gardner area, which includes North Willow Glen. Through San Jose's SNI, the city is making money available for certain neighborhood areas to improve themselves.

"Six out of our 'top 10' priorities are street-related," Christman said.

The road most in need of repair—and whose repair, according to Egan, is already in the design phase—is Delmas Avenue from West Virginia Street to the north end of Highway 280.

Along with its recent bid for a block grant, the Greater Gardner Coalition has already received $974,000 from public works and $223,000 from the San Jose Redevelopment Agency toward fixing damaged streets. In 2004­05, the redevelopment agency has budgeted additional funding for the coalition.

Rast said it would be at least a month before they find out if they receive the financial aid. If they are not awarded the grant, he said it might be another five years until anything substantial is accomplished.

For more information about community development block grant funding, visit http://www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/prns/nscd bgback.htm.