WASCO, Calif. (KERO) — How would you improve the city of Wasco? It's a question the city is asking residents as officials work to secure potentially millions of dollars in state grant funding.
The city held the first of two community meetings on Wednesday evening to gather input on how to spend the money if their grant applications are successful.
"We're putting in grant applications to the state. It's a competitive program, so the purpose of the workshops is to find out what the community thinks about how those funds should be allocated, should we have a successful application," said Keri Cobb, the city's Community Development Director.
Cobb said residents who can't attend the meetings can also provide input through an online survey the city has posted.
We reached out to residents on the Wasco Chismosos Facebook page to gauge community interest, and while no one was willing to go on camera, residents shared several priorities, including increasing housing in the area, installing a stoplight or bridge at the intersection of Highway 46 and Poplar Avenue, and creating youth programs.
Regarding housing expansion, Cobb explained the city faces infrastructure challenges.
"We need more capacity in our water system. So this funding can be used to install a new water tank, work on water wells. It's something that the city has been working hard on for the last six or seven years to get new water capacity into the system so we can permit more housing," Cobb said.
As for the Highway 46 intersection concern, the city already has plans in motion.
"We do have something already in the works. We've been working on that particular issue since late 2019, if I'm not mistaken. We've been working diligently with CalTrans to try to get something that's -- Highway 46 is CalTrans's right of way. The city put a plan in place, applied for grant funding, and at the end of this month, construction will begin on a HAWK system in that location," Cobb said.
Regarding youth programming, the city previously used Community Development Block Grant funding to repair the PAL building where Wednesday's meeting was held, and future funding could support program operations.
A second community meeting is scheduled for Thursday at the Old Courthouse building at 810 8th Street in Wasco from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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