2004 Performance Based Budget - Laserfiche WebLink

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Quality of Life Our commitment to community extends beyond public safety. It includes building strong neighborhoods and a vibrant downtown, providing parks and green space, public art, recreational opportunities and public facilities, creating <<n environment that celebrates our diverse traditions and nourishes our spirit. Quality of life joins infrastructure, economic development and public safety as the fourth corner of the foundation for building South Bend We have a strong commitment to neighborhoods and a proud record of revitalization efforts. Last year, the tenth for our curb and sidewalk program, we assisted 483 properties around the city. Together with similar work in Commercial Corridors, Model Block and Neighborhood Partnership areas, we invested $1,253,000. That is one commitment which is "set in concrete." We received $225,000 in federal funds to hire a Weed & Seed coordinator and take public safety activity up a notch in those West Side neighborhoods. Our horsing programs assisted 41 new homeowners and provided rehab assistance for 139 structures. We demolished Oliver School, which had become tmsafe and a blighting influence, to make way for new development. Rum Village neighbors helped to design a residential infill plan for the site. Last year, 140 new single-family homes were built in South Bend, at an average price of $140,001. From modest entry-level homes to high end, from infill to new subdivisions, people are choosnig our neighborhoods to be home. Since 1997 more than 950 new homes have been built; I would hke to add another 600 by 2007. We will promote the advantages of city living and continue to do things for our neighborhoods, hlce upgrade historic lighting fixtures, or start a pilot program for private lamp posts that enhance safety and aesthetics. We will also expand Clean City initiatives such as Adopt-a--Block that had more than eighty volunteers picking up trash. The pilot trash container program in the Near Northwest will be extended to other areas, providing 90-gallon plastic containers with lids that help to :keep alleys clear of litter and improve the efficiency of owr trash pickup operation. Code Enforcement towed over 1,000 abandoned vehicles last year, and our new A-33