A $202,000 provision in the appropriations bill passed by Congress on Feb. 13 will help provide a new community center in DeKalb.

The bill combined several smaller appropriation bills that previously would have passed separately. Many of these smaller bills include local projects of various congressmen.

Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert supported the provision that provides Conexion Comunidad with $202,000 to build a community center.

The money will be used for the acquisition and rehabilitation of the building the center will occupy, as well as for programming, said Sue Guio, community services planner, who worked with Hastert for a year to try to secure the money.

Minerva Cano, community health worker and kid care agent for the DeKalb County Health Department, said additional funding probably will be necessary. She said the money provided by the appropriations bill most likely will be spent obtaining and renovating the building, and that more money, probably from state and federal grants, will be needed for program funding.

The Pipe Fitters Union, 637 N. 11th St., is the ideal location for the center, Cano said. However, the building would require handicap access ramps, as well as other renovations, before it could be accessible to the public.

President George Bush is expected to sign the fiscal year 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, said Brad Hahn from Hastert’s office.

Once the bill is passed, the appropriations are filtered to various federal agencies, who, in turn, pass the funds on to local recipients. This process may take a few months, Hahn said.

The community center will provide a variety of services primarily to low- and middle-income residents, but it will be open to all.

Cano said she receives calls from lower-income residents inquiring about everything from finding a lawyer or doctor, to questions about filling out school forms. The community center will be a place where people can receive answers to these questions.

“Right now we have a women’s group, and we need a place to meet. We feel that the community center would be an ideal place to meet,” Cano said. “We feel that there is a need for this place where [people] can get services they need.”