By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
CLARKSTON — During its meeting on Feb. 24, the Clarkston City Council held a public hearing on the city’s 2024 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program followed by a vote to split the funds 50/50 between the Clarkston Area Youth Assistance (CAYA) and the Independence Township Senior Community Center.
According to city documents, Clarkston usually receives between $5,000 and $8,000 to allocate toward community programs. This year, the city received $7,000.
Caseworker for CAYA Lauren Klos and member of the CAYA Board of Directors Tricia Delude were in attendance at the city council’s meeting on Jan. 27 to express their desire for additional funding from the city.
While the council did not take any action regarding further funding for the program, the council did indicate that it would keep CAYA in mind when discussing the CDBG program.
At the Feb. 24 meeting, Independence Township Senior Community Center Supervisor, Jennifer Angus spoke during the CDBG public hearing to also express the desire for funding from the city. Angus noted that the township and city have a longstanding partnership when it comes to transportation services for senior citizens.
According to Angus, because of the Oakland Transit millage passed in 2022, the township now works with NOTA (North Oakland Transportation Authority) to provide transportation services. Because of this, Angus stated that the CDBG funds allocated, should the city decide to do so, would go toward senior center fees instead of transportation.
Angus also highlighted the programs the senior center provides like exercise classes, day trips, sight classes and other enrichment programs as well as aid programs.
Because the City of the Village of Clarkston is a threshold community, it receives a capped amount each year but the city is allowed to split the funding 50/50 between two projects, meaning both CAYA and Independence Township Senior Community Center could receive $3,500 each.
The council ultimately did decide to split the funds between the two entities, voting 5-0 in favor of the allocation. Councilmembers Al Avery and Amanda Forte were absent from the meeting.