Merced may reprogram HUD cash

Merced City Council will look at making amendments to funding aimed at low- to moderate-income housing as well as agreements with a housing rehabilitation program, during its regular meeting Monday.

More than $900,000 in Community Development Block Grant money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development could be shifted around, after members of the public get an opportunity to speak. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St.

The funding is related to housing rehabilitation as well as a water main project.

City staff chose the proposed water main replacement because of the age and poor quality of a particular water line that fits into HUD’s requirements, according to city records.

The total water main project cost is estimated at less than $600,000, records said. The water main replacement project was not included in the original 2014 HUD plan.

Another $500,000 is being considered as part of an agreement with Habitat for Humanity. The money would be programmed into rehabilitating 25 Merced homes, according to city records.

For a household to qualify for that program, the total income of all people living within the house must be less than 80 percent of the average median income for a Merced County household. According to the U.S. Census, the median income in Merced County is $43,565.

Also during Monday’s meeting, council will be asked to award $449,949 to contractors who could install bike shelters and a new bike pathway.

The $120,514 contract to build bike shelters at N and Fourth streets, at M and West 26th streets, and on M Street across from Cornell Court could go to Taylor Backhoe Service of Merced. Bike shelters include an enclosure, solar lighting, park benches, bike racks, a trash can and a “fix-it” station.

The job of laying the bike path would cost $329,435 and could be awarded to Avison Construction of Madera. The Class I bike path – the kind not open to cars – would go along Black Rascal Creek from McKee Road to Yosemite Avenue.

A closed session meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m., before the regular meeting.

City Council meetings are also streamed live on the Internet, and a link to the meeting and past videos is on the city’s website, www.cityofmerced.org. The meeting is also shown live on Comcast’s Government Channel 96.

This story was originally published November 2, 2014 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Merced may reprogram HUD cash."