COPC REPORT II.00
OVERVIEW
This report summarizes activities during the first reporting period covering from October 1, 1998 to December 31, 1999 in Year One of the University of Illinois at Springfield Community Outreach Partnership Center (UIS/COPC).
The UIS/COPC did not commence full activity until January 1999.One problem in immediate implementation was the late date of notification of the awarding of the grant.A related challenge was that unlike many of the larger universities awarded COPCs in the earlier years, UIS is among the smaller campuses that did not have an already established, ongoing unit (in our case within the Institute for Public Affairs) to which the COPC was given.Therefore we needed to establish an entirely new COPC office and staff.Larry Golden had to reschedule his time in the middle of a teaching semester to become the COPC Program Director.In turn, he hired Denise Rothenbach as the COPC Administrative Aide.A COPC office was set up with phones and staff.Consequently, this report will reflect activity towards COPC goals from January to December, 1999.The report will build upon our six month status report but will highlight activity that has occurred since the submission of the first report in July 1999 through italics and bold lettering.
During the early spring, Vice Chancellor Wayne Penn helped inform UIS faculty of the COPC with two lunch meetings.Professor Kenneth Reardon from the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign spoke about his COPC role and the East Saint Louis Action Research Project at one of the meetings.These discussions informed faculty about the nature of COPC and helped to generate faculty interest on the campus.
Faculty who have been particularly active in the establishment and activity of the UIS COPC include:Professor Sandra Mills, who has helped organize the UIS participation in neighborhood enhancement; Professor Peter Boltuc, who has helped in neighborhood enhancement and will be playing a major role in neighborhood organizing; Professor Michael Ayers, who has assumed leadership of the Microenterprise team; Professor Hazel Rozema, whose class has assisted with public relations material for the adopt-a-block program, Professor Dyanne Ferk, who has assumed a leadership role in the trash and refuse effort, and Professor William Warren, who has been leading the GIS research in the trash and refuse effort.
Major accomplishments have been achieved during this first formative period.The Springfield Project and COPC have established a neighborhood office.It is staffed by Sister Norma Somers, O.P. whose time is donated by the Dominican Sisters.The Dominican Sisters have also been instrumental in the formation of a not-for-profit subsidiary of The Springfield Project, called TSP's HOPE - The Springfield Project's Home Ownership Program for Equity.This organizational development directly interlocks with the COPC activity on home ownership and has the potential for providing one community wide answer to housing deterioration in Springfield.
Important progress has been made with regard to the trash and refuse initiative.The UIS television office produced a video which is available along with this report.Also available in this report is a summary of a study by Professor William Warren, using GIS as a means of analyzing garbage pickup.
Important progress has also occurred with regard to the microenterprise initiative.A cooperative relationship with Lincoln Land Community College has allowed COPC to move forward quicker than expected in the establishment of a program.This is a three part initiative:first is the establishment of a training program; second, a loan program, and third, a microenterprise incubator.Included with this report is a copy of our microenterprise training program brochure.Also included is a copy of a proposal submitted to Bank One for funding of the loan program.We received our first contribution of $5,000 from Bank One towards that program.Pending is a request for funding from the Community Reinvestment Act Council of the local banks.
As expected, particularly in the first few months we have encountered numerous challenges to our stated goals and time objectives.These have been clearly noted in the report.Least mentioned is the continuing struggle to get larger involvement of faculty, students, and staff within UIS to participate in the COPC.Each individual at this campus is stretched so thin that it is difficult for people to take on new endeavors.The grant itself does not contain sufficient resources to buy" people's time.This is a challenge we will be continually living with throughout the grant period.A second challenge has been to clarify our relationship with our primary community partner, The Springfield Project.It has been particularly important to develop a working relationship whereby we are seen as providing resources and not exercising control over Project activities.
In the following sections of this report, we describe our activities related to meeting the objectives specified in our original proposal to HUD.The language of the proposal is highlighted in Italics.We also note significant changes that have occurred or are being contemplated at this time.
1)Neighborhood Revitalization
The COPC working with The
Springfield Project (TSP) proposes to conduct various activities to help
revitalize a 27-block[sic: 21-block] area¡¦The COPC proposes to develop a model that can be
replicated in other neighborhoods throughout our blighted areas of
Springfield.The model involves an intensive
focus on a concentrated geographical area to build neighborhood solidarity,
leadership, and empowerment through consolidation of a variety of community
resources with resident direction and control.
Major objectives in this area have been met during the past 12 months.The establishment of a TSP neighborhood office has allowedTSP to have a base of operations as close as possible to the residents while also allowing COPC to have a presence within the borders of the neighborhood.COPC is paying telecommunications costs and occasional meeting costs in lieu of regular rent as the COPC contribution to the office.We are finding that it is increasingly more convenient for us to have any community meetings in the TSP office.
The existence of the office space and the work of a graduate student from the UIS Social Work Department have facilitated the development of a "plantclearinghouse" for not-for-profit organizations and a storage facility for materials needed in the neighborhood enhancement program.
a)Development of a Neighborhood
Plan.
Early in the calendar year, COPC held meetings of stakeholders in the community with the goal to have them constitute a Community Advisory Board.The initial meetings were held to discuss a planning process with the assistance of Walt Blackburn, an individual with planning background, and Robert Blackwell, a professional facilitator, both funded by COPC.All quickly became aware that this group may preempt the role of the residents and there needed to be more work on building community and establishing groundwork with and among the residents before an actual planning process can occur.
The residents were already into a process, coordinated by Cheryl Briggs, of block by block change that was consuming their attention and energy.Questions involving the need for redevelopment of housing and the economy, and a neighborhood revitalization strategy were being addressed regularly by the team. (See enclosed neighborhood map).Given the demands of the scheduled activity in the neighborhood, attempts to move the resident's attention towards visioning and planning, plus attempts to put together an expanded advisory board, were not occurring during a time which allowed for resident participation.
In our six month report we indicated that ¡°We find that engaging in the kind of planning that was initially proposed may require time and resources among the residents that can only occur once substantial groundwork is set.Thus, of the many neighborhood revitalization activities, the most rethinking may occur in this area.¡±During fall, 1999 a major breakthrough occurred with the establishment of a COPC financed arrangement with the School of Planning and Architecture at our sister campus, the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana (UIUC), and the UIUC East Saint Louis Action Research Project (ESLARP) to work with the residents of the TSP neighborhood to assist in the development of a visual plan for the area."
ESLARP staff member Kathy
Klump is providing assistance in the development of the planning
process.UIUC faculty member Brian Orland
is assigning students to work on the Springfield plan.Those students will be lead by Janni Sorensen, a UIUC
graduate assistant.Half of her time is being supported by the UIS COPC
along with other costs for the visits by the students and awards for the best
work produced by them.
Also during the fall residents of TSP neighborhood began the transition from a TSP committee to a more formal Neighborhood Association.This transition will allow for recognition by the City and a broader inclusion of residents within the geographical area.
The planning process will
include a way for involving other community stakeholders.This will in turn allow for reconvening the COPC
Community Advisory Board.As indicated in our previous report, we have been
concerned that that Board would preempt the role of the residents in community
decision-making.The goal is to have that Board aware of COPC activities
and also to provide advice to the COPC and the neighborhood association while
leaving the residents to have the control over the direction of their
lives.
Changes:
The COPC will support
neighborhood enhancement activities currently being undertaken by neighborhood
residents under the auspices of The Springfield Project.The COPC will help develop and promote an
"adopt-a-block" concept that involves finding sponsors to assume responsibility
for working with residents to assess needs and provides resources for such
efforts as cleaning up and maintaining on an ongoing basis specific blocks in
the 27 block area. In addition, UIS and other COPC partners will formally
"adopt one or more blocks on an organizational
basis.
Developing partnerships in The Adopt-A-Block program is a vital component in the TSP strategy for neighborhood revitalization.It allows us to build a bridge between various socio-economic and religious groupings while bringing resources to a neglected neighborhood within our community.The number of partnering organizations increased from ___to___ this year.The University of Illinois at Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College and Springfield College of Illinois joined First Presbyterian Church, Little Flower Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church were among the new partners.
Of continuing importance to the effort this year has been the leadership of Professor Sandra Mills, from the UIS Social Work Department.Professor Mills has worked tirelessly to mobilize support within the UIS community to partner with residents of the neighborhood. The partnership that is developing with students and faculty in Social Work Department is very important to the success of COPC.Professor Mills has involved students from her social work classes both as volunteers and interns in the neighborhood.One of her graduate students served this summer as an important partner to TSP Administrator Cheryl Briggs in neighborhood revitalization.Within the larger campus, Professor Mills has also recruited other faculty to work in a variety of capacities within the neighborhood. Professor Mills was recently cited as a faculty member who made major public service contributions to the University.Chief among those was her work with TSP through the COPC.
In addition to the work of
professor Mills, UIS assigned a staff person, ____________________ to work as a
liason with staff, students, and faculty on the UIS community
activity.Professor Mills has been working
with her to ensure that the university provides needed assistance to the
neighborhood during the spring and summer months.
At various times there is
the need for special equipment or skills in the neighborhood.The needs, for example, for an end-loader, a bucket
truck, a carpenter, or an electrician to accomplish tasks, particularly in the
UIS sponsored block, are being met by contributions of university equipment and
skilled employees.
Another faculty member who
is an important contributor is Professor Peter Boltuc.Professor Boltuc is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy
at UIS.He is a native of
Poland.He has experience in political
organizing as well as a scholarly background in political and social
philosophy.He brings an important
perspective on the dynamics and challenges within the neighborhood.He has an analytical eye for issues needing to be
addressed.And his research interests,
particularly in "social capital," are in areas which will assist us in resident
organizing and community building.Professor Boltuc will be working on the
Microenterprise initiative as well as coordinating the research of any students
we have in the COPC.
We continue to be pleased at the progress made in meeting the objectives in the grant proposal.In each case the objectives are in the process of being met or exceeded.
Changes:
COPC working in partnership with TSP, neighborhood residents, and others will seek to reduce or eliminate three problems that threaten the health and well-being of residents in the 27 block area, as well as residents in the other target census tracks:fly dumping, abandoned property/items left by residents/ landlords, and the ineffective disposal of household waste and garbage.
Major accomplishments in this area have occurred during the reporting period.
A COPC/TSP team started working on this issue early in spring, 1999.Members include COPC Director Larry Golden, Professor Dyanne Ferk, Professor William Warren and his GIS assistant Bill Knorr, Director of the UIS Television Office Jo Warfield and her staff member David Antoine, TSP Administrator Cheryl Briggs, COPC staffperson, Denise Rothenbach, and community member Bill Clutter.
Prominent among the achievements, the UIS television office produced an educational video to portray the garbage and refuse problems within the community. That video was shown for the first time at a public meeting in early July, facilitated by COPC leader, Dyanne Ferk. Along with the showing, there was focused media attention on the meeting and the garbage problems (see enclosed articles).
Professor Ferk has also developed a facilitator's guide for the video. That guide will be used by individuals who show the video to groups within the community.
UIS researchers, led by
Professor William Warren, have been collecting data from the garbage haulers and
inputting it into a GIS system. The first, of what may be a series of reports on
trash collection in Springfield, has been completed. That report shows that approximately 30% of the single
and two family residences within the City have no trash collection. When adjusted for various qualifications due the data
and housing practices, e.g., vacancy rates, it appears that approximately 15% of
the occupied residences do not have service. This information is already having
an impact on the debate within the City about the need to change the current
system of trash collection.
An expanded work group has
been constituted to carry forth on a strategy to move the issue of trash
collection to the stage of public policy debate and resolution. That group includes representatives of a landlord group,
the City of Springfield, neighborhood associations, and others interested in
trash, refuse and/or recycling. The group is exploring various options for the City on
alternative ways to solve the problem. It is engaged in information gathering and the
facilitation of a public dialogue with a goal to have this issue resolved during
calendar year 2000.
Work has been ongoing within the neighborhood to deal with the garbage problem. Pallets have been provided and some bushes have been planted. Partners have worked with residents to clean alleys and to provide opportunities for residents in this area to dispose of unwanted refuse items.
Changes:
- The changes here primarily involve the calendar of objectives, i.e., they are a few weeks or months behind. The accomplishments are on target given the lag time in the starting of the COCP activity
- Previously a graduate assistant, Bill Knorr was working for COPC in the GIS research of Professor William Warren. Mr. Knorr has since graduated. Because of skills in this area, we are considering ways the COPC might purchase his services to provide further work on the issue of trash and refuse collection.
2)
Housing
a) Housing Code
Enforcement
...poviding assistance in
monitoring administrative hearings and following up on specific cases,
reformulating in code form newly proposed recommendations for amending the
existing Springfield housing code, and developing educational materials that
help both the public and policymakers understand the nature of the problems
posed by the existing housing code.
Some of the work with regard to the Springfield housing code had already begun prior to establishment of the COPC Office: a TSP initiative team had already engaged in an analysis of the City Code; and a series of recommendations were drafted to present to the City. Discussions were held with the head of the Division of Community Services and with the Mayor. Because of a municipal election during the spring, those discussions were discontinued. Individual meetings with members of the newly elected City Council have begun.
Student interns have been attending administrative housing hearings and monitoring the complaints. An intern also documented violations in TSP neighborhood and assisted residents in filing complaints and following up on individual cases.
During recent months, there has been an
attempt to move this initiative ahead.Partly as a result of the work of TSP, the City is
reexamining the Code to provide ways to respond to "nuisance"
property.
The City's Office of Legal
Counsel is hiring an additional attorney to take default judgments to
court.
And a TSP/COPC committee is
considering ways to place the issues of dilapidated housing more squarely on the
public agenda. A grant request was submitted and approved by a local
foundation to provide leadership in the changing of the housing and
environmental code. Discussions are commencing with members of the
Springfield Coalition of Black Attorneys to assist in this and the housing
initiatives.
The focus of the work of the Television office last year was on the video regarding trash problems; most recently the Television Office has been working on a video on adopt a block; the video on code enforcement should be made this year, which is later than the time lined in the original proposal.
Changes:
- Plans are for the video on code enforcement to be produced within the next 12 months of the grant
b.Home
Ownership
COPC is proposing to work
with TSP and community residents to identify individuals in the community who
have unfavorable, unenforceable, or poorly drafted CFD (Contract For Deed)
arrangements; match them with volunteer attorneys who will provide them with
legal advice and assist in renegotiating CFD's develop a pool of attorneys who
will initiate legal proceedings on their behalf should that be necessary;
prepare a model CFD that is written in understandable language by the residents;
conduct workshops for community residents to educate them about CFD
arrangements; assist potential home buyers in their attempt to obtain
conventional/alternative financing and, if that fails, to assist them in buying
homes by CFD; develop a pool of carpenters, electricians, and plumbers who will
conduct non-certified inspections for potential home buyers; explore the
benefits and costs of requiring by law that CFDs be recorded with the
county.
Substantial work had been accomplished in this area regarding the use of contract-for-deed including the development of a model contract and assistance to individuals with regard to their contracts. A major shift occurred in this area when the attention moved away from a focus strictly on Contract For Deed to helping renters move towards home ownership. It was realized that people who reside in the houses own only 28% of the properties in the neighborhood area (see enclosed map of neighborhood area). The other 72% include vacant properties and lots, rental property etc. While Contract For Deed is clearly one problem that needs to be addressed, it was deemed higher priority to focus attention on increasing the number of residents who can move from rental to home ownership.
With the assistance of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield, a new not-for-profit corporation has been established as part of TSP's organization. Called TSP's Home Ownership Program for Equity (HOPE), it will provide for the purchase and rehabilitation of vacant houses in the neighborhood and assist residents who are presently renting and unable to obtain conventional financing to move to home ownership. Where necessary, such residents will obtain financing through a Contract For Deed arrangement with HOPE.
HOPE
has purchased and is in the process of rehabing its first property. At the same time, a closed examination of the
neighborhood is being undertaken to determine which other properties should be
considered for purchase.
One part of the HOPE
process will be a requirement that homeowners who are buying homes through the
program participate in an educational and mentoring system for new
homebuyers.
COPC is helping the education
coordinator to put together a model education/mentoring process. That includes a partnership with Lincoln Land Community
College to hold workshops on home maintenance. The first round of those workshops was held
during the fall. LLCC and COPC have agreed to a collaborative effort to
hold two more rounds of these workshops during the calendar year
2000.
In addition to the training
and home maintenance workshops, there are plans to develop a mentoring process
that will assist residents throughout the purchase of the property. We anticipate that COPC may be able to play a
significant role in the identification of resources for this
purpose.
As a result of the work in
this area and contact with local HUD Community Builder, Jane Lear, a coalition
has been formed of organizations which are engaged in educational efforts to
help residents move from rental to homeownership. The initial meetings focused on sharing information
about the various programs. Some sharing of resources has begun. The goal is to move to a point where there is sufficient
sharing of resources so that as much duplication of efforts as possible is
avoided.
TSP has hired an additional employee to assume duties related to HOPE. At this point, the HOPE effort is subsumed within TSP organization. At the same time HOPE is applying for additional funding in order to purchase and rehab housing in the neighborhood. With the help of those with legal expertise, TSP and COPC plan to revisit the contract for deed process to consider unresolved issues in that area. It is anticipated that during year two of the grant we will see accomplishment of many of the objectives associated with Contract For Deed.
Changes:
- The focus moved from CFD to establishing HOPE
- The use of attorneys will be delayed at least until year 2.
- The HOPE organization continues to provide an opportunity for COPC to provide skills to homeownership in a way that the focus of CFD did not.
- COPC is working with HOPE to assist in the mentoring/educational program for prospective buyers. This includes a partnership with LLCC to provide workshops on home maintenance. We will also be exploring ways that UIS and LLCC can partner in the mentoring process being developed for the program. In each case, we may reallocate funds within the grant to support these activities.
3)Microenterprise
Development
...COPC will... engage in technical assistance and outreach Microenterprise activities... that benefit the residents of the nine census tracks... by providing educational and technical assistance, as well as access to capital, to interested persons from the target community. Individuals seeking to set up small businesses may need training in financial, human resource and sales management and in marketing techniques...
A. A
TRAINING PROGRAM
Lincoln Land Community
College's Small Business Development Center is providing training for
those interested in starting a microenterprise. Students are taught about the challenges of starting a
small business. The goal of those who choose to stay with the program is
to develop a "business plan.¡± COPC will be providing students to assist in the
recruitment and administration of the program. A brochure has been developed to advertise this
program (see enclosure). It is anticipated that the brochure will be widely
distributed throughout the target area in order to develop applicants for the
training program.
Like HOPE, the
Microenterprise Program will include a mentoring component. The goal is to match applicants with mentors to assist
them from the time they develop their business plan through the establishment
and early period of their business development. It is recognized that mentors will be able to assist not
only with regard to strictly business issues, but also will be able to provide
guidance with regard to other stresses and challenges that come with owning a
small business.
B. A
LOAN PROGRAM
Residents who proceed
through the program will be given assistance on how to get funding for their
proposals.
In some instances, the
individual will have a good proposal but will not be eligible for conventional
financing.
In those situations, COPC and
LLCC have set up a microenterprise loan program. Modest loans will be made at low levels of interest to
assist those individuals who have completed the training program but cannot
obtain financing through other sources. Contributions are being solicited from local lending
institutions. There is confidence that the loan program will soon be
able to obtain its lending goal of $30,000 for the first year of
operation.
The details of administering the
program are currently being worked out. See the enclosed proposal for more
information.
C. A
SMALL BUSINESS INCUBATOR
COPC is working with LLCC
to establish a small business incubator in the target area. LLCC is presently looking for a space to set up a
learning center for the college. That center will include the provision of other services
such as job counseling. The LLCC Small Business Development Center will also
move to that facility. COPC proposed that a small business incubator be
included within the plans. We are working with the LLCC administration to establish
a collaborative effort between UIS and LLCC for such small business
efforts.
As a result of this work, UIS
COPC Director, Larry Golden has been asked to serve on the LLCC facility
planning committee.
Freida Schreck and COPC
faculty member Richard Judd have been working closely on these
programs
Having decided on the dimensions of the program, a brochure to publicize it to the targeted community is being developed and will be available for distribution very soon (see enclosed draft). Members of the microenterprise team are presently approaching various resource holders to obtain the financial base for the loan program.
We have been able to move much faster than originally thought in the establishment of a microenterprise program. Given the start on this project, we are very optimistic that the partnership between LLCC and UIS will have positive results with regard to Microenterprise development and sustenance in the Springfield community.
Changes:
-
- The Springfield Urban League indicated that it presently did not have the resources to commit to work on this program. We remain in discussions with them about how they might participate as the program is developed.
- One UIS faculty member, Professor Richard Judd has been unable to participate in the program. It is likely that the resources designated in the grant for his time will be reallocated to other COPC projects.
4)Education
a)Serve as a Clearinghouse for Dissemination
of Information Locally and Regionally
COPC... will cooperatively administer a clearinghouse for dissemination with the targeted community's information about COPC activities, future plans, opportunities, and the availability of resources for use by interested persons...
While important progress has occurred, this is an area in which the late start of the COPC has had an effect on how much could be accomplished, particularly with regard to the residents.
Although we are still working on an official logo, a COPC newsletter format has been designed and the first issue has been distributed (see copy enclosed). A second issue is in process. A webpage has been developed and we are working on ways to include as much of the UIS/COPC work products in it.
We continue to receive inquiries about our COPC, particularly from prospective COPC institutions. We have provided assistance to them by phone and fax and particularly through copies of the UIS proposal.
The COPC has provided assistance to The Springfield Project to establish an office in TSP neighborhood by paying for the telecommunications operation of the office and occasionally paying a fee for use of the facility for large meetings. COPC maintains a presence in that office and conducts meetings there on an as needed basis. At this point TSP has only a six-month lease for the facility. If it is determined that TSP will maintain the facility for a longer time, COPC will explore ways that the office can be used for other types of information access and dissemination.
Changes:
- The UIS television office no longer has an individual with the expertise to maintain our webpage. We are making alternative arrangements for maintenance of the COPC webpage that will result in a reallocation of some of the money from webpage to other COPC activities.
- The format and scheduling for some COPC materials is still in process. For example, there has only been one COPC newsletter.
b)Exchange of Information with Other
Centers
The COPC will provide
information to the University Partnership Clearinghouse and exchange information
with other COPC centers and interested parties.
The UIS COPC is providing regular reports to HUD as required or requested. Most importantly, despite the time required during Spring 1999 to establish the COPC office, Larry Golden and other associated with the COPC have been involved in conferences to exchange information on related activities. This includes the following:
-
- UIS maintained close contact with members of the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana campus who have been involved in COPC. In particular, Professor Kenneth Reardon provided counsel and inspiration to us as we established our COPC effort. Professor Reardon served as a guest speaker at a UIS COPC event in March 1999 in which he talked with a number of faculty on this campus about the East Saint Louis Action Research Project and faculty involvement in COPC activities (see enclosed announcement).
- Attendance at the national conference of Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) in Madison, Wisconsin. This conference has provided ideas for neighborhood activity and partnering with other organizations including universities that has proved helpful to TSP in the past.
- Sending a delegate (Professor Peter Boltuc) to the HUD Best Practices conference in Kansas City in July 1999.
5)Community Organizing/Empowerment
a)Community Advisory
Board
The COPC will set up a Community Advisory Board [and] constitute functional area advisory committees to help provide direction in two areas - Home Ownership Enhancement and Microenterprise Development.
Early in the year, a community advisory board was constituted composed of major stakeholders in the neighborhood where TSP and COPC are working. After three meetings, it became apparent that the way the Board was being established would conflict with a more primary goal of resident control and direction when it came to neighborhood issues.
As we review the grant, we concluded that the kind of community advisory board described is already in existence in the form of the TSP Neighborhood Enhancement Team. That team is composed of residents of the target neighborhood and sponsors who are partnering with them to change the neighborhood. They are in the process of formalizing their organization as a neighborhood association. It is clear that this group should be the core of an advisory team for neighborhood planning purposes.
A secondary question, not yet answered, is whether it would be worthwhile to maintain the Community Advisory Board as initially established to review and advise us with respect to the other COPC activities and possibly to serve in an "advisory" capacity to the TSP Neighborhood Enhancement Team.
Functional area advisory committees also exist in support of a number of COPC activities:
* The Trash and Refuse Team includes [LIST NAMES AND TITLES]
* The Microenterprise Team includes [LIST NAMES AND TITLES]
* The Home Ownership Team has become the HOPE Board of Directors and includes: [LIST NAMES AND TITLES]
In addition to these Teams, the COPC regularly reports its work to the Community Council and the Board of Directors of The Springfield Project. The Community Council provides a monthly open forum for residents of the City at large to participate and become informed of TSP activities. The TSP Board of Directors, which includes private resource people and residents, oversees the work of TSP and its various committees and is the "reward" of the organization's resources. All of these groups have input and review of COPC activities.
b)Neighborhood Improvement
Structure
Objective:Foster lasting change in the targeted community by helping residents establish an ongoing structure to enhance their own assets, remedy their own problems, acquire new skills, and continue to pursue neighborhood revitalization activities.
Once this transition is consummated, discussion can be reopened regarding future ways in which the neighborhood can exercise control over property and equipment, and to initiate businesses and hire employees. The development of a land trust and/or a Cooperative remain possible ways in which this might occur.
An important issue facing the neighborhood group is the determination of control and direction of a three-lot area which is central to the neighborhood area. The residents have expressed a desire to have that area turned into a "park" for common usage by those living in the neighborhood. One possibility is for the neighborhood to assume some kind of ownership of the property. If that were to occur, then there would need to be some very direct discussion about the structure of ownership and control, leading us.
Key to the achievement of these objectives is to find a place to serve as a neighborhood center. This would also provide COPC the opportunity to provide resources for information and education within the neighborhood.
Changes:
-
- A corollary goal is to provide leadership training and education/resources for empowerment of residents. We will be assessing what kinds of resources COPC can generate to assist in these activities.
1.With regard to Microenterpise, the grant calls for identification of impediments to economic development in the area under consideration AND identification of the types of micro-enterprises that have the best chance for success for entrepreneurs in the targeted community AND how the impediments can be reduced or eliminated.
Given the issues raised by Copache Tyler and the decline of Aunt Jean's how can we assist businesses on the East Side to succeed?
How about using some of the moneys for STUDENTS to do some of the study work?
DON'T FORGET TO WRITE IN PETER BOLTUC IN THE RELEVANT SECTIONS.
2.we still need to get the information from the stakeholders about plans they have for changing the neighborhood. In addition, we need to find a way to move ahead with the planning process.
3.We have to find a way to refocus attention on the PARK area. We need resident involvement to do that - e.g., addressing the Park Board, etc.
4.Find a way to include the Re-Source Warehouse in the Report
5.Talk more to Cheryl about the implications of the move to a neighborhood association with regard to control/ownership/future direction.. Also, how can we use the Neighborhood Team as the Community Advisory Board. If they are willing to do that, we can provide refreshments at the monthly meetings or on occasion e.g., have dinner provided.
What about a couple of planning meetings/retreats in the fall for residents and even sponsors to do some assessment and planning/visioning.?
6.Talk to Nancy about the video on code enforcement: how is that to be budgeted?
7.Research areas:
- history of the neighborhood
- research on other communities with regard to code enforcement/trash, etc.
8.Should we expand the microenterprise team to include community members?
AREAS TO HIGHLIGHT: