A million and a half dollars were nearly lost in the hubbub over the Buena Vista Casino Intergovernmental Services Agreement at Tuesday's meeting of the Amador County Board of Supervisors.

Early in the agenda of that meeting, Larry Busby, executive director of the Central Sierra Planning Council, stressed the urgency of finalizing an application to the state for funding under its Community Development Block Grant program. This application must be submitted to the state no later than April 3 and there must be another public hearing on the matter prior to that submission.

In years past, block grants under this program have been limited to $800,000, but this year both the limit and the rules have been changed. For 2008, the county may apply for up to $1.5 million in either programs or a project. This can be done with two programs for $500,000 each or one program for $500,000 and a project for $1 million.

There is more to this decision than may initially meet the eye. Whatever is proposed must be beneficial to low-income households, which makes the Mother Lode Job Training Program, last year's recipient, seem a natural as a program. Another possibility is the First Time Homebuyer's Program, though if the county applies for two programs, it can't apply for a project grant.

In discussion, District 4 Supervisor Louis Boitano spoke of the Pine Grove Town Hall and the old Amador County Courthouse in Jackson as possible projects. Under block grant rules, money can be used to make county-owned buildings compliant with the regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

County Administrative Officer Terri Daly recommended to the board that she get together with Busby and General Services Administration Director Jon Hopkins to come up with a more detailed plan for approval by the supervisors.

Block grants will be on the agenda for next week's board of supervisors meeting.