Council to vote on Oakland cash

Councilwoman Tonya Payne is making sure Oakland’s needs are met.

At yesterday’s regular… Councilwoman Tonya Payne is making sure Oakland’s needs are met.

At yesterday’s regular council meeting, council unanimously passed a preliminary bill sponsored by Payne – who represents parts of Downtown, the Strip District and Oakland – to give $5,000 to the Oakland Business Improvement District for neighborhood improvements and $11,000 to the YMCA Centre Avenue for after-school programming.

These projects are connected to former Mayor Tom Murphy’s resolution in 2000 for a citywide Neighborhood Needs Program.

“[Murphy] came up with that concept for funding to neighborhood organizations to do work within neighborhoods,” Payne said. “Money went to all 88 neighborhoods, and the neighborhoods themselves decided what money would be used for.”

Some of the money that is left over is going to these two projects.

Georgia Petropoulos, executive director of the Oakland BID, said the money will go toward a sidewalk cleaning program, the annual farmers’ market, BID’s monthly newsletter, and trash and smoking receptacles.

“It’s great,” Petropoulos said. “Any opportunity where we can get some funding from our city partners is wonderful.

“Councilwoman Payne is one of our three representatives in Oakland [in addition to councilmen Bruce Kraus and Bill Peduto], and this is her way of supporting us and our projects.”

BID receives annual allotments from city council for neighborhood improvement projects.

“The money’s essentially needed,” Payne said. “Any programming that we do, any improvements that we do, like improvements in after-school programming, usually cost money. So it would be essential that these organizations have the money.

“Not even specifically BID, but they have a good 12 initiatives that are going on right now, and they’re all based on business district improvement, cleanliness, recruitment of business, retention of business, marketing materials … They have a whole host of initiatives, so actually they could use more than $5,000.”

Petropoulos said the funds are largely for community revitalization and will improve Oakland beautification.

The bill will go to final vote Tuesday.