[Source: Nogales International] -- Santa Cruz County supervisors crossed their fingers April 30 and voted to apply for federal Community Development Block Grant funding to continue renovating the 1904 Historic Courthouse on Morley Avenue. The amount of the grant would be $490, 264. The money would pay for a new heating and ventilation system, and upgrade the electrical system, said Mary Dahl, Community Development director. But the application requires the county to commit $175,536 in leveraged funds. Dahl is optimistic the county will get a Heritage Grant for Historic Preservation to cover the extra cost, as it did with the Robert Damon Recreation Complex, she said. But the county cannot apply for that grant until later this year. Applications are due Dec. 29, 2008. If the county does not receive the Heritage grant, the $175,536 would have to come out of the budget for the following fiscal year, Dahl said.
