The Irvine City Council will be voting tonight on final approval of a $475,000 Housing and Urban Development Department grant for renovation of Hangar 244 at the Great Park.
If approved, the grant money is to make improvements to the Hangar for “future program uses,” according to a city staff report. Future uses include “classroom, entertainment, dining, parties, and large gatherings such as chess tournaments, dances, exhibits and performances,” the report said.
The approval is likely given that the Great Park Board of Directors, which includes every sitting council member, already unanimously approved the grant in April.
Also on the agenda is the purchase of a 2003 Barrango carousel that entertained crowds at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, a $100,000 donation from Maruchan and the memorandum of understanding for a challenge grant for Irvine and Tustin school districts.
In the past, a similar challenge grant drew criticism from Councilwoman Christina Shea because an intermediary organization, the Irvine Public Schools Foundation, held onto the money longer than it was supposed to.
The new MOU dictates that the “Irvine Public Schools Foundation will remit payment to Irvine Unified School District within 14 days of receipt of city payment.”