OGDEN -- Members of a newly formed nonprofit organization asked the city council Tuesday night to consider allocating a portion of Ogden's annual federal Community Development Block Grant to help stabilize financially struggling families.
Robert A. Hunter, president and chief executive officer of United Way of Northern Utah, presented the proposal to the council on behalf of the Ogden Capacity-Building Coalition. The coalition is made up of United Way and a dozen other area human service organizations.
Hunter asked the city council to reconsider its grant policies as it begins to develop a five-year plan for using CDBG funds.
The council took no action on the request.
Hunter suggested that the council formulate a request for proposal detailing its goals to help struggling families primarily in east-central Ogden become more financially stable.
The Ogden Capacity-Building Coalition would then provide a specific proposal to meet those objectives, Hunter said.
The coalition could provide families with homebuyer education courses, asset-building strategies and training aimed at preventing home foreclosure, Hunter said.
He describes the coalition's approach as a "better tool that will help build a better community and neighborhoods."
Hunter did not state the specific amount of CDBG funds the coalition would seek from the city.
The city will receive about $1.1 million in CDBG funds this year, of which 15 percent can be used for human services, said John Patterson, the city's chief administrative officer.
The majority of the city's CDBG funds are used to rehabilitate homes and build new ones for low-income individuals, primarily in the east-central section of Ogden, said Richard McConkie, the city's community and economic development director.
Patterson said $55,000 in CDBG funds are allocated to support the city's Business Information Center, which provides resources in helping startup companies get off the ground and existing firms expand.
Karen Thurber, a former neighborhood revitalization project coordinator for the city, told the council the Business Information Center doesn't provide the same services as those proposed by the Ogden Capacity-Building Coalition.
Hunter said members of the coalition will meet with city officials to determine how they may be able to complement services offered by the Business Information Center.
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