08-02-17 Community Relations - Laserfiche WebLink

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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