1998-07-13 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Session 1727, Minutes July 13, 1998 Mr. Paul Marsh, 7462 Cornell Ave., said that beginning in Spring of 1996, Rory Ellinger and Mayor Adams began meeting to discuss problems of the City as they might impact the school district and vice versa. That soon led to them forming a commission which eventually had twenty-two members of a diverse cross-section of University City. Real effort was made to get people from different ethnic backgrounds, locations within the City and expertise. The commission met every two months for about a year and a half. What is being presented tonight is a status report of where the commission is at with a work-in-progress working paper. Mr. Hardy Ware, 1465 Forest Green, said that there were six major points to the plan: ¢¢1 - Keep the neighborhoods strong, stable and diverse; ¢¢2 - Strengthen families in poverty by addressing their social environment; #3 - Expand economic development opportunities, #4 - Recognize that the quality and appeal of University City depends, in large part, on the quality and appeal of the school district and vice versa; #5 - Build on the public relations program of both the school district and the City; #6 - Draw on all resources in the community, from the Danforths to other neighborhood programs, etc. They are also in the process of arranging public forums at schools, churches and other public places throughout University City to familiarize the residents with this plan. Mr. Eric Friedman, 7010 Washington, said that about eight months ago, he was asked to join the commission particulary to bring some perspective in terms of economic development. His background is in commercial and industrial real estate. The commission believes that there is a lot of economic development opportunity here, in both the retail and industrial sectors. Part of the plan speaks to these issues. The plan also details how to take advantage of community resources, such as it residents, to assist the commission in developing and exploiting the economic opportunities that lie before us. One specific suggestion, for example, was to hold an annual business resource conference once or twice a year to expose the businesses in University City to a number of opportunities, such as funding, which is available through the County and other agencies. This will help provide an open communication channel between the City and the business community and vice versa. They plan to utilize state tax credit programs, as well. Mr. James Cotter, 1343 Eastover, said that he wanted to make sure that Council understood that they were not presenting a plan tonight, but a working paper that has a perpetual life, which they hope will continue from this point on. The commission was not set up as a land trust or to run a land trust. Nor is it to provide a staff to stabilize neighborhoods. They really looked at ways and opportunities that they could utilize the services that were already available in the community to do many of the things proposed in this working paper. What they eventually hope to do is to bring those resources together along with direction and planning to establish their goals and to make University City the place it should be. They also hope to develop ideas from the