Three organizations collectively receive $23,514 in county funds

Three Fallbrook organizations were allocated Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funds April 9.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to award $10,000 to Bonsall Fallbrook Little League, $10,000 to Fallbrook Center of the Arts, Inc., and $3,514 to the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance.

The Neighborhood Reinvestment Program is intended to provide grants to non-profit organizations for the furtherance of public purposes at the regional and community levels. In addition to non-profit organizations, county supervisors can also fund schools and fire departments, and supervisors can also use money from their budgets to supplement other county funding for specific county projects such as parks, roads, and libraries. Each county supervisor recommends the allocation of his or her Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funds, although those allocations must be approved by a majority of the board. The grants to the Fallbrook organizations were from the District 5 budget of Supervisor Bill Horn.

The award to Bonsall Fallbrook Little League will cover field improvements, equipment replacement, a new public address system, and an iPad. Bonsall Fallbrook Little League does not turn away players whose families lack the financial resources to pay league fees, and participation has been growing at approximately a 10 percent rate over the past 10 years. That has left the fields, equipment, and technology in need of repairs and upgrades. The Neighborhood Reinvestment Program funding will provide field improvements such as batting cage repairs and bleacher installations, while the equipment replacement will include new uniforms and a new chalker.

The grant to Fallbrook Center for the Arts will be for capital improvements and renovations including the replacement of windows, ceiling insulation, ramps, and doors, and the funding will also help purchase vacuums and defibrillators. Approximately 12,000 people each year experience some form of art from one of the arts center’s programs.

The money for the Fallbrook Beautification Alliance will be used to purchase and install an unbreakable cover for a historical kiosk, to upgrade trash containers which have been ruined, and to reimburse the organization for the costs of replacing four steel plates along 215 Fallbrook Street. The Fallbrook Beautification Alliance, which was formed in 2004 to coordinate efforts among groups interested in the maintenance and improvement of Fallbrook, upgraded and replaced the steel plates along the promenade immediately after they were stolen in November 2012 due to safety concerns.