With time running out to allocate money from federal COVID relief funds, the El Cajon City Council agreed to provide about $1.1 million to local projects, with the largest amount going toward the rehabilitation of a building the city agreed to purchase. last year.

City Manager Graham Mitchell told the council at its Oct. 22 meeting that the city had already spent or allocated about $29.3 million of the $30.4 million it had received from the American Rescue Plan Act.

The remaining ARPA money must be allocated by Dec. 31 and spent by Dec. 31, 2026, or it will have to be returned, he said.

The largest allocation is $609,950 for improvements and repairs to a building at 405 E. Lexington Ave., which the City Council agreed to purchase from San Ysidro Health for about $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act money last December. .

The Chaldean Community Council is the building’s sole tenant and has two $1 leases with the city to operate a small business incubator and provide social services and other programs.

The allocation includes $554,500 for various repairs, with an additional $55,450 provided to Chaldean Community Council for construction management, which Mitchell said will free up city staff time and allow tenants to do the work.

Approximately $180,000 will be needed in roof repairs, $150,000 will go toward HVAC upgrades, $120,000 will be used to restore or correct unpermitted work, and $55,000 will go toward hatchery upgrades, among other repairs.

Unrelatedly, an additional $150,000 will be allocated to Newcomers Support & Development, another group that works with the Chaldean community in El Cajon.

The money will go toward a four-door SUV and cameras, lenses and other equipment for the development of an “Arabic Media Broadcasting” program to help Arabic-speaking residents become better informed and connected to the city.

Mitchell said that in return, Newcomers Support & Development will provide monthly updates, introduce council members and some staff to the community, create quarterly videos of city services and help the city communicate with Arabic speakers. . During disasters and emergencies.

Mohammed Tuama, director of Newcomers Support & Development, told council members the media project would be an extension of other outreach work the group has done with councils over the past decade, and said staff members from the city could use some of the equipment.

In another allocation, at least $300,000 will go to Downtown El Cajon Partners for various needs, which could include fencing and gates around a parking lot on Prescott Promenade, benches, tables, planters, lighting, a storage structure and speakers along Main Street and Art Alley, pond rehabilitation and color-changing LED lights on Main Street.

Another $68,000 was allocated for wellness equipment for the city’s four fire stations.

Last December, City Council members agreed to purchase the former San Ysidro Health building at 405 E Lexington Ave., where the Chaldean Community Council had already been a tenant for about three years.

The plans at the time included Chaldean Community Council operating a small business incubator, which could be used by all residents of the town.

The plan was solidified in April when San Diego County provided a $500,000 grant to launch the incubator.

Murtada Kamaluldeen, director of the El Cajon Small Business Incubator, said the money recently allocated by the City Council will be used to create office space for local entrepreneurs, who will also connect with Grossmont College business professors and receive other assistance to Help us launch their companies.

original story

El Cajón allocates $1.1 M for local projects