The City of Santa Clarita has successfully obtained $55,412,154.33 in grant funding from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

The largest source of grant funding during this period has been the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

The City has been awarded $17,434,234, to fund 18 projects ranging from road and bridge improvements and transit system upgrades, to energy efficiency retrofits and building façade improvements.

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The largest single award the City received through ARRA was a $4,620,000 grant to construct solar bus canopies and carports which, in addition to the existing solar bus canopy, will generate over 90 percent of the electricity needed to power the Transit Maintenance Facility.

“Grant funding is so important because it allows the City to fund projects and programs that are of importance to the community,” said Mayor Marsha McLean.

Some of the additional grant funding includes an award of $85,843 by the United States Department of Justice through the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program which is being used for gang, graffiti, and truancy sweeps conducted by the COBRA Unit and the Sheriff Department’s Community Interaction Team.

The City received a $500,000 federal appropriation to help fund seismic retrofits to the City Hall building in order for it to serve as the Santa Clarita Valley’s primary Emergency Operations Center in case of a natural disaster.

The Federal Transit Administration granted the City $13,104,516 in funding, $7,999,516 which will be used to replace old transit busses with new, Compressed

Natural Gas busses and $805,000 to expand the City’s bus fleet with the purchase of additional new, Compressed Natural Gas busses.

The City also received awards totaling $1,703,330 from both the state and federal “Safe Routes to School” programs.  The $1,155,060 awarded to the City by the State of California provided for pedestrian improvements to crosswalks, signs, and sidewalks at Valley View, Valencia Valley, North Park, Leona Cox, Rio Vista, Old Orchard, Canyon Springs, Meadows, and Emblem elementary schools.