The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About03-2008 Newsletter5 0 U A6 END 1 MARCH 2008 Mayon 5iFpkF -,y J. LUFck,, Letter from the Mayor THIS MONTH... Dear Friends and Neighbors, Mayor's Letter Earth Day Events Times have been tough lately for average Americans. Gas prices and rising Spring Clean Up 2008 Clean Your Files Day medical costs continue to consume greater portions of household income. The Downspout Disconnect U.S. housing market is in its worst slump since the Great Depression with First Time Home Buyers new housing starts nationally their lowest in 16 years. A poll in February sug- 0 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 gested that 61 percent of Americans believe the nation is now in a recession. SPRING CLEAN UP 2008 • But as we weather one of our harsh Midwest winters, there are very posi- • RECYCLING • tive signs of a warming trend in South Bend. The total value of construction • • improvements in the city reached its highest level in 16 years in 2007, accord- • SPRING IS IN THE AIR!! It's time to • ing to yearend figures from our Building Department. New construction last • • clean out basements, closets, attics, book- • year totaled more than $181 million, up 36 percent from 2006. This amount • shelves, boxes and cabinets. The Fall Book • well surpassed the annual average valuation of $122 million and represents a Collection netted 2 tons of books, 225 cell • record high since the consolidation of city and county building departments. • phones and 16 lbs. of shoes all donated to the And, for the 12�' consecutive ear, more than 100 new houses were built in y area nonprofit agencies for reuse. • SHOE COLLECTION: All shoes must be • the city. • • • paired and with rubber bands around them The fact that this growth occurs at the same time as a national housing • please! NO: jelly or plastic shoes, golf or cle- crisis is truly remarkable. This new investment in South Bend will help us to ated shoes, western boots or roller skates, bed- • expand our residential base and spur on new growth in both population and • room slippers, or shoes with tears, grass • economic development. • stains, dirty or generally worn out. • BOOK COLLECTION: only morally ate- • The city's total permits issued in 2007 surpassed the total for the rest of the • propriate books accepted. They will be put to • county, while the number of new commercial buildings increased by one -third good use rather than wastefully being dumped over the previous year. • into the landfill. Results like these call attention to the strength of South Bend's diverse • CELL PHONES: donated to the • economy and the City of South Bend's efforts to create a foundation upon • Women's Shelter for emergency use. • which economic development can flourish. One example of that is the City's • EYE GLASSES: donated to the Lions. • • decade -long work with the University of Notre Dame and other neighborhood • Please drop -off all items at the District Of- • groups that led to the development of the Eddy Street Commons. Construc- fice at 621 East Jefferson Blvd. Mon. - Fri., • tion will begin this spring on this $200 - million mixed -use development. Its • March 24 thru March 28 8:00 - 4 :30 or the • quality and unprecedented scope will bring a heightened national focus to • Household Hazardous Waste facility at 1105 South Bend's progress. • East 5ffi Street in Mishawaka Tue. - Sat., • • March 25 thru March 29 8:30 - 3 :30. • The construction of new housing in conjunction with Eddy Street Com- • mons and the City's targeted efforts to reduce the number of vacant and aban- . If you are unable to meet the above sched- • doned houses will positively impact the local housing market. • ule, please contact Jessica Spenner at • 245 -6604. Donations will be accepted until • Thanks to the Eddy Street Commons and other efforts, we're expecting • April 4, 2008. • that 2008 will shatter all previous construction records. We're expecting a • • groundbreaking year all over the city — our best year for economic develop- ment in a generation. In spite of dire economic trends across the nation, South • LARGE ELECTRONICS: Please bring old • Bend anticipates sunnier skies in 2008. • analog TV's, VCRs, and computers to 1105 E. • g p • • 5th St. Mishawaka, 46544, Tues. - Sat. 9:00 • Sincerely, a.m. - 3:00 p.m throughout the year. • 'r_ • $12 for each large electronic item. • Mayor Steve Luecke • • • Sponsored by the • Solid Waste • Management District oUr Fall, s� 0 My Contribution to Earth Day S0UTH_B E N D l�Jl�l�illf•l�l!■ Files Day 2008 Wednesday April 16th College Football Hall of Fame Downtown South Bend 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Bring all secure documents for recycling to the College Football Hall of Fame parking lot. This year, Confidential Shredding will be offered On -Site! Hours: 7:00am- 4:00pm. You may bring up to 50 lbs. (approx. 1 -2 file boxes) for Free Shred- ding! Additional secure documents can be shred- ded for 15¢ per lb. For more information, call Solid Waste Management District at 574 -235- 9971. Sponsored by City of South Bend, Waste Management Inc., Solid Waste Management District, and Mountain High Shredding In the market for' a new home? I 'r The City of South Bend can help!!! The following programs may be used to- gether or separately to purchase a home within the South Bend City limits (eligibility based on income guidelines): Community Homebuyers Program Grants up to $19,000 are available to assist with the purchase of your home. Interest rates are competitive, no PMI (private mortgage insurance) required, Lower mortgage payments due to assis- tance with use of the grant. Reward ♦ Grants of up to $1,000 are available to assist you. This grant pays toward down payment and closing costs for your mort- gage. For more information please call the Division of Community Development at 235 -9475. South Bend's FREE DOWNSPOUT DISCONNECTION • If the downspouts on your home disappear into the ground, there is a good chance that they are connected to the City sewer system, causing sewers to receive both waste and rain water. A single residence can deposit as much as 27,000 gallons of rain water to the system each year! Dur- ing heavy rainfall and melting snow, this combined sewer overflow can cause flooding, sewer backup into basements, and odors that escape into the air through downspouts rather than remaining underground. To help reduce these occurrences, City residents are urged to call the Divi- sion of Engineering to sign up for a free downspout disconnection. The City will send a two- person crew to disconnect the downspout, cap the entry pipe to the sewer, and redirect the downspout to release rain water into the yard, where it is naturally absorbed into the ground. A downspout disconnection can cost as much as $200, but this service is offered at no charge to South Bend resi- dents. Since 2004, we have disconnected 530 homes from the sewer system, reducing our overflow volume by over 10.5 million gallons! Working together we can help eliminate sewer backups and overflows. If you have a downspout connected to the sewer system, please call 235 -9251 or visit our website at hqp: / /www.southbendin.gov - help make South Bend a "Clean City." . . � @T. Make a difference in our community by supporting this environmental protection, awareness and outreach event: Earth & Arbor Day Festival 2008 Sat April 19, 9 am - 3 pm Potawatomi Park, South Bend 9 am Blessing of the animals, parade & benefit walk -a- thong. Visit with Mother Earth 10 am St. Joseph Riverbank cleanup; 11 am Speakers on recycling, gardening, composting, solar _ energy, and more. 1 pm Annual Earth & Arbor Day tree planting All Day Exhibits on plant & herb growing, gardening, solar food cooking and toy display, perennial sale, ecology, recycling center, kitten /puppy adoption, free cloth tote bags, trees, plants and more! The district will again be giving away up to 5 tree spruce saplings per family on a first come, first serve basis. Sponsored by: The Earth Day Resource Center, the City of South Bend, South Bend Parks & Recreation Dept., Botanical Society of South Bend, Indiana Urban Forest Project, South Bend Tree Advisory Board, the Garden Club of South Bend, and the Solid Waste Management District For more information please call the Earth Day Event Clearinghouse at (574)277 -7456 or visit www.swmd.org. hisit Our Website at www SoutliBendIN.gov!