AGOURA COUNCIL TO MULL BLOCK GRANT SPENDING : FUNDS EYED FOR SENIORS PROJECT.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

AGOURA HILLS - City council members tonight will consider spending federal money designated for low- and moderate-income residents on a seniors activity wing for the new community center to be built this fall.

If the council approves a staff recommendation, $90,000 would go toward the construction of the 1,500-square-foot seniors wing. The city of Calabasas, which is a partner in the community center, would provide the other $90,000 needed for the addition.

The community center is expected to be designed in February or March, with construction beginning in September. Opening is planned for the fall of 1998.

Agoura Hills will receive $161,469 in restricted federal Community Development Block Grant money for the 1997-98 fiscal year. The money can be spent only in specific ways, including providing improvements for low- and moderate-income residents, eliminating blight and offering public service programs.

In the past, the city has used a large chunk of the yearly money to pay for a Day Laborer Phone Bank that helps pair the workers with potential employers through a job line and advertisements, and senior recreation programs.

But changing requirements have made it difficult for Agoura Hills to find projects that qualify for the money since only 12.5 percent of the city's population is in the specific income bracket, and that segment does not live in one area, City Manager Dave Adams said.

``In a lot of other cities, they can put the money into housing rehabilitation or other programs because there's a demand for it,'' Adams said.

The program requires that 70 percent of the funding be devoted to programs for low- and moderate-income residents and only a maximum of 25 percent be spent on public service programs.

The city had been spending 43 percent on public service programs by applying for a waiver, but authorities have said they will no longer make such exceptions, Adams said.

As a result, the day laborer program would be eliminated by June 30. The seniors programs, however, would be paid for through $16,000 from the general fund and about $35,000 in CDBG money under the recommendation to the council, he said.

The council may choose to spend $95,000 on ramps around the city for handicap accessibility instead of building a seniors wing. CDBG guidelines consider handicapped adults to be low- and moderate-income residents, city planning and community development director David Anderson said.

The remaining CDBG money would be split among other services, including: $8,000 on city staffing, $13,000 for planning and $15,074 as a set-aside for unexpected costs.

Adams said the city should spend the $13,000 to report on how the city can use CDBG money in the future, especially since guidelines will get even more strict in coming years. A plan would allow the city to consider options such as a micro-enterprise start-up facility, which would provide telephone, computer and phone answering services to entrepreneurs.

``The study would help us so that we don't waste the money,'' Adams said. ``The idea of micro-enterprise is to offer whatever kind of support to new businesses to keep their overhead down. Ideally, they'll move out and start a business in the community.''

The Agoura Hills City Council meeting is tonight at 7:30 p.m. in council chambers, 4373 Park Terrace Drive, Agoura Hills.