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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-02-17 Community Relations ��SpU $ T U d W PEACE y �,e ■ .a� 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK COMMUNITY RELATIONS AUGUST 2, 2017 6:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Regina Williams-Preston, Karen White, Jorden Giger (citizen member), LaQuita Hughes(citizen member) Committee Members Absent: Gavin Ferlic, Randy Kelly Other Council Present: Jo M. Broden Other Council Absent: Tim Scott, Dr. David Varner, Oliver Davis, John Voorde Others Present: Kareemah Fowler, Bob Palmer, Graham Sparks Presenters: Stacy Odom, Jasmine Brown, Joseph Shabazz, Emmanuel Cannady, Anne Mannix, Josh Ar6valo Agenda: Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee Chair Regina Williams-Preston called to order the Community Relations Committee meeting at 6:00 p.m. She introduced members of the Committee and thanked WUBS Radio Station for hosting the meeting and broadcasting the meeting on the radio. She then proceeded to share history of past meetings. Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated, Our topic tonight is Housing and Neighborhood Development. I have asked people to come and share their stories revolving around this topic. We want to make sure everyone's story is represented. We will have more time at the end and if anyone is interested,please share. In September of 2016 we had a meeting that talked about community policing. A number of residents brought forth evidence and concerns regarding police harassment and concluded by highlighting the need to have a citizen's review board. The Mayor announced shortly after, in his State of the City address, that there already existed a citizen's review board as it is the Board of Public Safety. Clearly,based on the testimony from the meeting, that Board has not operated in a way that has invoked residents' trust in the safety of our people. Most recently, I've been contacted by a group of advocates and allies that are organizing a working group with the expressed purpose of working with the City to create an independent Civilian Review Board. At our February meeting we hosted a representative from the Democracy Collaborative out of Cleveland, Ohio. She gave a presentation on Community Wealth Building. There have been a few conversations had since then but this really important issue needs follow-up. This year we have been focusing on reducing violence by promoting 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBendIN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS peace. In recent months the South Bend Community School Corporation hosted a training at Rise Up Academy that focused on restorative practices to teach people how to be circle keepers. With the International Trainer of Trainers,Katie Pranus, participants expressed interest in putting forth a resolution to encourage the City to put money in the budget for free conflict resolution services. This is seen in many cities around the country. With the primary concern being youth violence,they would like to train young people to be circle keepers and subsequently be paid a stipend. In one (1) of our first meetings last year, out of concern for income inequality and longstanding disparities with regard to jobs, education, and other issues facing the Black Community,we hosted JP Consortium, a consulting firm out of Chicago. Our hope was to bring them to South Bend and lead a community-needs assessment that would provide data to help us understand areas of inequality and identify areas of need. There were many meetings with City Administration and there was money set aside but after many months, Christina Brooks decided not to extend a contract to JP Consortium. They are an all-black firm out of Chicago but they were deemed to be too militant a group to pass review by our Board of Public Works. The City is currently pursuing a partnership with a large non-profit called ProsperityNow. They are looking to provide a needs-assessment for our community. We want to make sure the City is addressing the right people for these identified needs. Committee Chair Williams-Preston then announced, If you are a property owner in South Bend and have received a notice stating your property will be sent to tax-sale,there may be help available to save your home. If your tax statement has special assessments related to penalties from Code Enforcement,you may be able to have those penalties dismissed. Please call the Community Forum for Economic Justice at 574-222-4966 to get help. Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated, Many members of the community have expressed concern with the City's lack of fore-thought of its most vulnerable populations. For instance, the roundabouts have been constructed without the proper safety measures in consideration for the blind. There are also not a lot of safe, quality housing options for those on low, fixed incomes. The minimum people on SSI receive is approximately seven hundred and seventy-three dollars ($773) a month. Compounding this problem, apartments, like the Hoffman Apartments downtown, don't always offer reasonable accommodations for people with regard to their disability. Unfortunately,this is a norm among quite a few South Bend landlords when it comes to accessible housing. For more information or to join that conversation, please find the Michiana Disability Advocacy and Support Group on Facebook. There has also been concern expressed to make sure the new homes coming to the west side of South Bend are not confined to only single family homes. We need affordable multi-family units because not everyone has the time or resources to maintain a home on their own. Seniors, for example, need to have affordable options that can accommodate their needs. To this end, I'm proposing to hold an upcoming Community Relations meeting to hear more about the needs of those with disabilities, and to learn more about how the City can be more responsive to those needs. Committee Chair Williams-Preston continued, This brings us to the issue at hand tonight. We must hear the voices of the members in our community that are not often heard. Those are the fifty-three percent (53%) of people who live in households that, according to the United Way's 2 most recent Alice Report, make less than$46,000 a year. That is less than what is needed to survive on a basic household budget. The time has come for us to have a real conversation about what life is like for many residents in our community. We have often said South Bend is the tale of two (2) cities. Whether it be African-Americans, people with disabilities or people of other races or ethnicities that live at or below the poverty line,they are living a very different experience than what is promoted in the popular media. In the spirit of inclusion, we must address these issues. The disparity particularly for black people in South Bend is striking. The poverty rate for the City is roughly twenty-eight percent (28%) but fifty-six percent (56%) of black South Bend residents live at or below the poverty line. African-Americans constitute only twenty-seven percent (27%) of South Bend's general population but account for forty-two percent (42%) of all persons living in poverty. Recently the Mayor announced the unemployment rate overall was roughly three point two percent(3.2%). The unemployment rate for African- Americans in South Bend hovers roughly around twenty percent(20%). Income inequality in our community directly effects the ability of people to save the money to afford critical repairs to their home. Our Committee met in May and we were introduced to a housing proposal that would address the problem of having hundreds of vacant lots left in the west side neighborhoods after the demolition of homes in the one thousand (1,000) houses in one thousand(1,000) days initiative. The proposal was called one hundred (100)houses in five hundred (5 00) days. It had a focus on new construction and at that meeting, the message from the community was clear. Along with new construction, there must be a program for assistance with home repair. With this in mind,the initiative has been upgraded to include an aggressive plan to address the existing homes around every new home that is to be constructed. With that change, we have also changed the name to one hundred (100) homes and five hundred(5 00) families with the goal to rehabilitate homes. This will help ensure revitalization comes to the west side neighborhoods and current homeowners will be able to stay in their homes. Cities all across the country are going through revitalization. We all believe in investment in the government, but few cities have been able to avoid gentrification. Gentrification is the revitalization and introduction of new development that causes the pushing out of existing residents that cannot afford the new,trendy, and high-end homes. There is an ever-growing number of voices demanding development without displacement. The City of South Bend has committed to development without displacement but if we are not careful, we are doomed to repeat the cycle that has already come to the south west side of the City. Committee Chair Williams-Preston went on, On page forty-eight(48) of the Westside-Main Street Plan, in section thirteen(13) called `Acquire and Consolidate Vacant Parcels,' the City has proposed a five (5) step program. The first step is to target areas of high-vacancy. The second step is to acquire and hold properties until consolidation is complete. The third step is the purchasing of occupied homes in the target area or to provide alternatives to relocate residents to other existing homes. The forth step is to demolish remaining structures. The fifth step is to issue a request for proposal for private development of consolidated properties. In my opinion,that sounds like development with displacement. To be fair, this plan was crafted four(4) years ago. Since its publishing,we have called on the Administration to review policies and practices that would cause the pushing out of current residents of the west side. There has been some movement with this, but we must organize to educate residents on what is coming and mobilize them to take control of neighborhood development. The most pressing and time-sensitive issue related to fighting gentrification on the west side is the upcoming tax sale. She repeated her 3 announcement, If you are a property owner in South Bend and have received a notice stating your property will be sent to tax-sale,there may be help available to save your home. If your tax statement has special assessments related to penalties from Code Enforcement, you may be able to have those penalties dismissed. Please call the Community Forum for Economic Justice at 574-222-4966 to get help. She continued, When it comes to revitalization on the west side,we must demand development without displacement. A common refrain across the country is `Reclaim, Remain, Rebuild.' We must reclaim our tax dollars. We have to ask how the City is currently spending our tax dollars on housing. The City recently gave $5 million to a single developer for luxury apartments in Downtown South Bend. Those apartments start at one thousand and two hundred dollars ($1,200) a month. Most people in South Bend could never afford to live in these homes but our tax dollars are spent to support this high-end development. We understand there may be a need for market-rate housing but there is also a need for rehabilitation. We have to honestly ask ourselves if we are using our tax dollars most effectively. We next need to be sure we remain in these existing neighborhoods by providing residents help to rehabilitate their homes. We lastly need to rebuild. We do this by employing minority contractors and providing job training to residents to rebuild our own community. We want the City to use our tax dollars,to pay our people, to build our homes in our neighborhoods. There are various issues related to neighborhood development and we will have a few members of the community speaking to these issues. Stacy Odom, 212 S. Iowa Street, stated, I have had a few experiences with Code Enforcement. The first is when I was growing up and we had a neighbor that kept calling Code Enforcement on us claiming we were fixing other people's cars in our driveway. Because the neighbor complained so much, Code Enforcement called the mortgage company and they foreclosed on the home. There were ten (10) years left of payments left and my parents paid it off one (1) and a half years. Code Enforcement is not a joke. My second experience was when I bought a house that was on the demolition list. I didn't know what that was and when I went to Code Enforcement they gave me a list of things I needed to do to the house. I did what they told to me to do and a month later I got a call saying it was still on the demolition list, and I thought it was on the repair list. I called Code Enforcement and they told me I had to notify them about the repairs I was making. I talked with Randy, the Director of Code Enforcement, and things are straightened out. There are still things needed to be done on the house but my advice to you is to go right to Code Enforcement. You really have to establish a relationship with them. Jasmine Brown, 230 Sadie Street, stated, I live in one (1) of the most blighted areas in the City. I live in my grandmother's home. My home is very old, it is over one hundred(100) years old but to me, it is very important and it is part of my tradition. I feel it is very important to pass on tradition not only for me, but for my children. I am very heavy on youth advocacy. My house needed a roof and garage, and I saved and put a roof on myself. We aren't asking for anything for free, we are simply asking for what has been due for several years. I should not have to be asking for what my parents and grandparents were asking for. It should already be done. I used to live over by Notre Dame and I was displaced with the new development there. Luckily I had my grandparent's home to move to. This is a program that will help rehabilitate all of South Bend, not just some of it. There is a lot of rich African-American history that we need to keep. 4 Right now it is going right over the tops of the heads of the decision makers. I feel this is the first time to grab ahold of redevelopment. I don't want $200,000 homes next to homes like mine. I do not want gentrification to happen. A lot of people think we don't care but we do care. Because of the systematic oppression of our people, this is the result in the long run. We do matter and our tax dollars matter just as much as the people that live on the river, Main Street and over by Notre Dame. Committee Chair Williams-Preston, There have also been issues with minority contracting. In 2015,the Annual Diversity Report identified over$90 million was put out for contracting projects.Not one (1) contract went to African-American businesses. Only one (1) contract was awarded to a Hispanic business. This is a clear indication, in our own records, of the disparity. Joseph Shabazz, 208 Rue Flambeau, stated, I've been involved with this since 2003. Before I got involved, the City, for twenty(20) years, hadn't been offering work to minority contractors. I did a lot of follow-up and some policies changed. In 2015-2016 there were over 12,000 purchase orders and only two (2) went to African-American businesses. It is required by law to offer opportunities through contracts and employment to members of the communities with the lowest amount of opportunity. I also asked how many African-American subcontractors worked on the Smart Streets Program and the City doesn't have a record to respond to my request. One (1) of two (2)things happened. Either one (1), there were no African-American contractors or employees or two (2), the City doesn't really care to know. Either way,that is unacceptable. I don't know why we trust the City at this point to do the right think. We ought to get more involved with this process. If you're making less than $70,000 a year, chances are you are a have-not. And if you are a have-not, you ought to want to become something. The only way to do that is for people to band together and accomplish it. Our County Government structure doesn't even have a diversity and inclusion apparatus. We have people that say they are with us but when it comes time for action,they are nowhere to be found. We ought to be tired of that and we ought to do something. Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated, I want to thank those speakers for shedding light onto the multiple facets of this issue. The key element to all this is improving the living conditions for current residents and we must prepare our neighborhoods for construction and rehabilitation. We must repurpose these vacant lots. We also must put people of color back to work. We need job training to prepare individuals to repair, build, and rebuild the homes in their own neighborhood. Minority contracting and job training is necessary in making that happen. We need to organize and learn to gain control over the development happening on the west side. One (1) example of this is the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative. In the late 1980s,these neighbors worked together to take control of the development in their neighborhood and work with the City. We can learn from their example. We are showing a screening of their efforts called `Holy Ground,' which is airing on August 10, 2017 at the LaSalle Library at 6:00 p.m. We are also working on a date for next month to hold a public forum on housing. This date will hopefully have Mayor Pete in attendance to address the concerns of the residents with regard to housing development. Committee Chair Williams-Preston repeated, If you are a property owner in South Bend and have received a notice stating your property will be sent to tax-sale, there may be help available to save your home. If your tax statement has special assessments related to penalties from Code 5 Enforcement, you may be able to have those penalties dismissed. Please call the Community Forum for Economic Justice at 574-222-4966 to get help. Emmanuel Cannady, 311 E. Colfax Street, stated, I want to thank Regina for having me and it has been very powerful to hear some of the stories you have shared. I've been in South Bend for five (5) years but am from Wisconsin. I am used to the environment that has been described and I've asked myself how I can give back and how I can use my degree to embolden communities to get the retributive justice they deserve. This conversation can't be stopped and will not be stopped. It is up to us as a community to drive the message home that we matter. When I do this work I don't only do it with my mind, I do it with my heart. Our survey is titled `South Bend's neglected neighborhoods: A study on environmental inequities and the affects of perceptions of self.' It is a two (2) or three (3)part survey. We are first going to go to each individual community and ask individuals to take surveys, and then have focus groups after that. My favorite part is that this survey will be distributed by members of that specific community. The focus groups are intended to get to the core of the community structure and how that has an impact on physical and mental health. This really relies on the community and please let us know what more we can do to help. Anne Mannix, 724 W. Washington Street, stated, I live about three (3) blocks from here and my background is in city planning. My goal is to look at the neighborhoods as a whole and look at what is needed. I've always been in favor of low-income people. I worked in housing for about thirty (3 0) years doing different things in housing. If you try to build a house with new construction, it could cost upward of$175,000 to build when it would only sell for$70,000 or $80,000 on the market. It is hard to make these affordable and you would have to find a way to reduce the mortgage costs on that home if you want to keep it owner-occupied. Affordable housing needs to be available for those making $35,000-$40,000. Individuals making any less than that have difficulty owning a home because things break and they don't have cash on hand right away to fix it. Individuals making less than$30,000 need affordable options as well. There is a project I worked on that is a land cooperative where all the homeowners own them all together, and that model works. All federal housing programs have income limits. One (1)thing a neighborhood needs is a range of incomes. We asked the City to construct the new houses but write down the mortgages and ask for what the houses are going to be appraised for. We proposed that to the City and they have not said yes or no. We said one hundred (100) houses to make it big. The idea is to match incomes with mortgage values and to keep homeowners in the neighborhoods. We are also waiting for the market study to be done by the City. Committee Chair Williams-Preston stated, The City gave $5 million to one (1) developer for luxury apartments. We are only asking for$6 million to help one hundred(100) families. I don't think that is too much to ask for. Josh Ar6valo, 104 E. Jefferson Boulevard, stated, Rehabilitation is expensive only because a contractor says a price and the City pays it. What we want is development without displacement. We need intelligent and green rehabilitation. That means when the rehabilitation is happening, the family remains in the home. There are major components to rehabilitation. The roof, siding, windows, ceilings, air systems, electrical, plumbing, foundation and landscaping are all the basic components to rehabilitation and can be done in a green and intelligent way, without 6 displacement. It should not cost the same price of a new house to rehabilitate a house. In fact, it should only really cost around $30,000 to $40,000. This is a way to improve our community without causing more damage. Kelly Hoggard, 735 Huey Street, stated, He mentioned a lot about exterior rehabilitation, but a lot of it will be interior mechanicals. Who do you have in mind to do that work? Are there minority contractors available to do that? Without economic development, who can afford to live there? The bottom line is we need economic development. Myra Butts, 744 N. Jacob Street, stated, They put a sidewalk by my home but the City then put a sidewalk in my yard. I thought it was very disrespectful. When we start to go into peoples yards, the City ought to let us know. Elonda Wilder-Hamilton, 1154 Fremont Street, stated, I have been a homeowner and employed for thirty (30)years. I grew up in Chicago and came to South Bend forty-two (42) years ago. I've seen neighborhoods go from good to bad and one (1) thing I've seen is the trash. The City is supposed to sweep streets. Right after the Fourth of July,the street was filled with debris and nobody cleaned it. As a tax payer we deserve clean streets. The City also needs to cut the grass between the street and sidewalk. Samuel Brown, 222 E. Navarre Street, stated, I'm a minority contractor. One (1)time I was at a site and the people that showed up asked who I was. We got to talking and I said I was the contractor. The rules of being a minority contractor are hard. If you want things to change in the City of South Bend, we have to change the Council. Rhonda Neal, 2404 Frederickson Street, stated, I've been to meetings. I almost hit three (3)kids every year accidently. Why can't we get Lincolnway done like Main Street or Western Avenue? Just light it up. There is only one (1) bus bench on that street. The City is slow doing anything on our side of the City. Lonnie Hosea, 1201 Blaine Avenue, stated, My biggest concern is why we can't rehabilitate some of the old businesses. We have to wait two (2), six (6)months or even two (2) years to have things come back to our neighborhood. Committee Chair Williams-Preston thanked all in attendance and thanked those that spoke in the meeting. With no further business, Committee Chair Williams-Preston adjourned the Community Relations Committee meeting at 7:22 p.m. R tfully Sub ' e Regina i iams-Preston, Chairperson 7 I