LIMA — Lima’s city government was looking to the future Monday while taking a moment to honor a prominent figure from its past.
The city’s Department of Community Development held a public meeting to discuss its five-year Community Development Block Grant consolidated plan as well as its plan for this upcoming year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, 2016. The department is required to submit a plan for how it will use these block grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“The planning process for Housing and Urban Development has really changed over the past five years,” department Director Amy Sackman Odum said. “This year, the city decided to really try to expand its outreach into the community. From December through February, we did an online survey. We did focused surveys with professional groups in housing, economic development and community services.”
While each yearly CDBG plan focuses on specific funding totals for each qualifying program, the five-year plan focuses on general goals that the department hopes to accomplish using money from HUD. The goals for the upcoming consolidated plan include improving and expanding affordable housing, revitalizing neighborhoods, combating poverty and increasing economic opportunities in the city.
“I think one of the most exciting things is that the city is now going to use the same methodologies that larger cities use for housing development,” Sackman Odum said. “We would like to use some of our HOME funds as a matching incentive to leverage dollars for private developers.”
During the subsequent Lima City Council meeting, the council passed a resolution memorializing the late Dorothy J. Riker, who was the first woman to serve on City Council, serving from 1973 to 1991.
“She was a good friend,” council President John Nixon said. “When I came in, I was considered the younger wave coming into council, and she was respectful of that. I’m very happy that I was able to serve with her on council and got to know her through the years.”
Mayor David Berger also commented on his relationship with Riker, commending her years of public service.
“Our work together on behalf of the city was a high point for me,” he said. “I certainly appreciate the support she gave me. She was really a wonderful lady to know and work with.”
