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South Bend Redevelopment Commission Regular Me ting - March 20, 1981 5. PUBLICIHEARING (continued) As I indicated earlier, the plan does look better than either of the previously proposed ones, and there are reasons for proceeding with it rather than obstructing it, but I still have grave doubts as to whether it is what's best for the people who live there and that, after 11, is our primary concern. Therefore, in the spirit of that concern, the South- east Side Neighborhood PAC would like to request that the Department of Redevelopment, once again as in 1973 during the Paris and Elder Street Clearance Project, enter into a contract with us to perform the community organization of citizen participation activities that at that time were mandated by HUD. We feel that it is important to have these activities carried out from an office located within the Monroe - Sample area and that the Department's personnel spend at least part of their time in a similar location as was the case in 1973. We are concerned that the trauma which this project will produce for over 70 families and individuals be mini- mized as much as possible, and that the pain be reduced to the lowest level that human understanding and con- cern can lower it to. I woul invite any of our residents who would want to speak Obout how this would affect their own lives." Mr. Ni tz thanked Mrs. Hernandez for her statement, informing the audience that Mrs. Hernandez had been at every meeting and felt that many of the changes that have been made have been because of recommendations that Mrs. Hernandez and her organization have made through the la t year. Mr. McPlahon said that the Department was very concerned with respect to all of the activity in the Monroe- Sample neighborhood and if you broke it down to people's time and hours spent either in this office or someone repre- senting this office, the relocation of the individuals with respect to the housing in that area is going to occupy by far the bulk of our time, and so it should. We see a very strong need to perform a service in a manner that is consistent with what Mrs. Hernandez is asking and that is basically to have someone located down i the neighborhood on a full -time basis that under- stands those problems and that is capable of being always available so that residents don't have to come 13