[CentOS] access to httpd logs

I need to enable some access to the httpd logs over ftp so they can be
analyzed by another application to get a report. I used to do this on
Windows NT before replacing the server with CentOS. 

Thanks to help from another thread I have an ftp server enabled on the
web server. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to create an id
for the application to connect with, then provide a symlink to the logs
in that generic user's home directory. 

The problem is the logs are owned by root. How can I make them readable
by this generic id without completely compromising security? Plus, as
the logs rotate this id will still need access. 

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
James