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CITIZEN PARTICIPATION <br />On January 27, 1999 and March 30, 1999, the Chapel Hill Town Council held a public <br />hearings to receive ideas from citizens about how funds could be spent in the Community <br />Development Program, the HOME Program and the Comprehensive Grant. The hearings <br />was intended to help the Town Council determine how aforementioned program funds <br />could best benefit low- and moderate-income Chapel Hill .residents. <br />Comments and funding requests received at this hearing are summarized below. <br />Citizen comments. received at the January 27 and March 30, 1999 public hearings are <br />summarized below. <br />1. Community Cuisine <br />Will Alexander of Community Cuisine requested $37,000 of Community Development <br />funds to continue operation of their culinary skills program. The program provides training <br />sessions throughout the year and assists with job placement. The organization also <br />sponsors a similar program for teenagers and the mentally ill. Funds would be used to <br />sponsor programs and for administrative expenses. On March 30, 1999, Will Alexander <br />and Michael Ullman, volunteer Executive Director requested that the Council reconsider <br />its request for Community Development funding for the program. <br />Staff Response: A portion of this request, $16,000 is included in the 1999-2000 <br />Community Development budget. <br />2. Orange Person Chatham Mental Health Agency <br />Pat Connolly of OPC Mental Health Agency requested $150,000 of Community <br />Development and/or HOME Program funds to purchase and rehabilitate houses in Orange <br />County for persons with disabilities. <br />Staff Response: A portion of this request will be funded with 1999-2000 HOME <br />Program funds. <br />3. Orange Community Housing Corporation <br />Robert Dowling, Executive Director of the Orange Community Housing Corporation <br />requested $230,000 of Community Development and HOME Program funds to develop <br />forty-six affordable housing units: fourteen townhouses on Scarlett Drive (to be developed <br />as a land trust); and thirty-two townhouses in Meadowmont. The houses will be developed <br />for households earning less than 80% of the area median income. <br />The March 30, 1999 recommended Community Development and HOME Program plans <br />did not include funding for the development of the Meadowmont town houses. On March <br />30, 1999, Robert Dowling stated that development of this project was further along than <br />anticipated and that the Corporation would begin incurring architectural and engineering <br />costs for the project in fiscal year 1999 - 2000. <br />5 <br />