[0:07] okay three you can go ahead and

[0:10] start

[0:11] all right well good evening everyone

[0:15] and welcome

[0:17] to the fy 22

[0:19] through fy 2026 neighborhood

[0:22] revitalization strategy area

[0:24] nrsa second public informational meeting

[0:28] i am terrain nars i am the director of

[0:30] the economic and community development

[0:32] department for the city of bessemer and

[0:34] today is june 9th 2022

[0:37] i'm joined as part of this

[0:40] informational meeting

[0:42] by our consultants ask development

[0:45] solutions incorporate it

[0:48] in the city of best for nature input

[0:50] again as a recipient of community

[0:52] development block grant fund from the

[0:54] u.s department of housing and urban

[0:56] development the city of bessemer is use

[0:59] is planning to use a cdbg tool to

[1:02] support community revitalization

[1:04] the city is proposing to submit a

[1:07] neighborhood revitalization strategy

[1:09] area or nrsa

[1:11] application to hood for a defined target

[1:13] area

[1:14] within

[1:16] the

[1:17] city the nrsa will provide additional

[1:19] affordable housing and economic

[1:21] opportunities and new and innovative

[1:24] ways to increase investments through the

[1:26] city cdbg funds and attracting other

[1:29] public and private funding

[1:32] nrsas can significantly impact

[1:34] communities by constructing new housing

[1:37] expanding home repairs improving

[1:39] neighborhood conditions

[1:41] creating and retaining jobs and

[1:43] businesses in the area

[1:45] and as you'll see a little later on the

[1:47] boundaries of the target area that we

[1:50] have identified for this nrsa starts at

[1:54] 12th avenue north to the west

[1:56] 22nd street north to the south

[1:58] dartmouth avenue to the east and 35th

[2:01] street to the north so generally if

[2:04] you're in bessemer you know where the tracks divide north and south side

[2:08] we've carved out an area that includes a

[2:11] little bit of both on both sides and

[2:13] this is an area where we're looking to

[2:16] um

[2:17] to implement the nrs thing and so we

[2:20] have been we have been getting input

[2:22] from community residents groups and

[2:24] organizations within the target area for

[2:26] the last several months and we have

[2:28] developed strategies and activities for

[2:30] consideration and we need your input

[2:33] so on that note i want to welcome you

[2:35] all out tonight those of you joining us

[2:37] on the meeting and those of you who will

[2:38] be watching this once it's recorded and

[2:40] we'll share and now i'm going to turn

[2:43] the rest of the meeting over to our

[2:45] partners with ask development solutions

[2:48] thank you uh thank you terrain

[2:52] um

[2:53] thank you for

[2:55] uh participants for taking your time to attend um i am chris plummer

[3:03] principal of ass development solutions

[3:07] my background is in

[3:09] [Music]

[3:11] federal grant management

[3:14] technical assistance

[3:16] real estate development and i

[3:19] have as my my parent partner here here

[3:23] at koscium here if you can just

[3:26] introduce yourself

[3:30] yes thank you chris my name's gary

[3:33] causey

[3:34] um similar to chris i have a background

[3:36] working with federal grants

[3:38] i am a former us hud field office

[3:40] director in the jacksonville florida

[3:42] office

[3:43] of which i was there for

[3:45] 30 years and recently retired

[3:49] and

[3:50] found myself wanting to

[3:53] stay involved and

[3:55] began doing some consulting work with

[3:57] chris

[3:58] and um we have had the pleasure of

[4:01] working for several months now on this

[4:03] nrsa in bessemer among other projects

[4:07] this one we find to be real exciting

[4:10] and welcome and to the meeting tonight

[4:12] and thank you so much for attending it's really important that we hear from

[4:16] as many people as possible

[4:18] thanks

[4:19] thank you here

[4:20] so i just want to do a quick uh review

[4:23] of the agenda

[4:25] um we'll recap the purpose of the nrsa

[4:29] although terrain did quite a bit of that

[4:31] in terms of his introduction

[4:33] we'll tell you what we did specifically

[4:36] around community participation

[4:39] um we'll talk about planning for the

[4:42] five-year period of the nrsa um discuss

[4:46] our goals strategies partners and so on

[4:50] uh we look at some plan public private

[4:53] sector and rsa investment this this is

[4:56] just a sample

[4:57] uh you know we have the full um bill in

[5:01] the in the nrc plan itself and we'll

[5:04] talk about

[5:06] the timeline for the nrsa

[5:08] and what

[5:10] will be done in terms of ongoing

[5:13] accountability

[5:14] uh so let me just

[5:17] slide so we'll be recording this session

[5:20] and we'll

[5:21] uh keep you your audio muted when you're

[5:24] not speaking um will provide breaks

[5:28] uh for you to ask questions you can

[5:32] either put up your your hand electronically

[5:36] and then ask a question

[5:39] or you can put questions or comments in

[5:42] the chat box

[5:44] um and you know we welcome your ideas

[5:47] and participation we want this to be

[5:51] a conversation

[5:53] with you to get your input on some of

[5:56] the ideas

[6:02] okay

[6:03] so again just by way of background the

[6:05] city of decimal receives federal

[6:08] community development block grant funds

[6:10] from the u.s department of hud

[6:13] and these funds are typically used to

[6:16] create affordable housing

[6:18] improve the living environments of um

[6:21] areas that are primarily um

[6:25] low-income

[6:27] areas

[6:28] create jobs and other economic

[6:30] opportunities

[6:32] and these are primarily to assist

[6:36] low-income areas and low-income persons

[6:38] individuals and households although

[6:42] the um

[6:44] nrc does provide the opportunity to have

[6:49] a mix of incomes in a community which um

[6:53] tends to enhance the

[6:55] um the community

[6:58] um by bringing a mix of incomes and

[7:04] skills and

[7:05] talents and expertise to that community

[7:08] so let me just um

[7:10] pass over to um

[7:14] gary

[7:15] just

[7:21] carrier on newton

[7:25] i apologize sorry for that

[7:27] so

[7:28] um the nrsa

[7:32] provides a greater flexibility under the

[7:35] cdbg program

[7:37] basically there are opportunities to

[7:39] expand

[7:42] activity investments that are otherwise

[7:46] capped under the regular program and it

[7:49] allows you some more flexibility

[7:51] to address your unique needs to the area

[7:56] one thing that we do know from previous

[7:59] nrsas is that

[8:01] they often attract significant leveraged

[8:04] private and public funding investments

[8:06] outside of cdbg

[8:08] and we do want to point out that this

[8:10] application in no way

[8:12] constitutes an application for

[8:14] additional

[8:15] cdbg funds

[8:17] this only allows you to concentrate your

[8:20] current resources

[8:22] and leverage other private and public

[8:24] funding as well into this into the in

[8:27] our sa area

[8:30] it also provides an opportunity as chris

[8:33] mentioned to

[8:34] provide assistance to households that

[8:37] are generally

[8:38] above what would be the limitations

[8:41] under the regular program which is set

[8:43] at 80 percent of area immediate income

[8:47] this provides for an opportunity to

[8:49] assist households up to 120 percent of

[8:52] area median income

[8:55] it also provides opportunity to do job

[8:59] creation and retention

[9:01] and that is an activity that quite

[9:03] honestly a lot of cdbg grantees across

[9:06] the country shy away from because

[9:09] there's so much documentation

[9:12] necessary in order to do activities like

[9:14] job creation

[9:16] this allows you to do that with a lot

[9:18] less of that red tape and paperwork

[9:22] and the cost per job

[9:25] is

[9:26] higher under an nrsa than it would be

[9:29] under a regular cdbg program

[9:32] it also provides an excellent

[9:35] opportunity to bring in

[9:36] new partners partners that can duplicate

[9:40] activities that the city can undertake

[9:42] themselves but this is a chance for what

[9:45] we call community-based development

[9:47] organizations

[9:49] to carry out the same activities as the

[9:51] city would in an nrsa

[9:54] it also allows for

[9:56] cities to expend more funds on needed

[9:59] public services within the area

[10:02] again a higher amount can be spent on

[10:05] public services than

[10:07] in the regular cdbg program which is

[10:09] capped at 15

[10:11] there is no cap under an nrsa

[10:15] so these partnerships between the

[10:17] government private sector and community

[10:19] organizations often uh non-profits also

[10:22] resident small businesses

[10:24] this this provides for a great

[10:26] opportunity to implement

[10:28] a successful nrsa

[10:31] next slide

[10:40] so some of the criteria and and it is

[10:44] i would say rather

[10:47] challenging to design

[10:50] uh and put together uh an nrsa with that

[10:54] will meet this criteria in order to get

[10:56] hud's approval

[10:58] but again hud reserves approval of these

[11:01] nrsas to areas which have a demonstrated

[11:05] need for

[11:07] uh concentrated assistance

[11:09] so the area must be primarily

[11:11] residential with at least 70 percent of

[11:14] the residents that are low to moderate

[11:17] income

[11:18] the boundaries must also be contiguous

[11:22] enough

[11:23] excuse me all residents

[11:25] can be served within those boundaries

[11:28] regardless of their income

[11:30] at least 51 of the services must be

[11:35] made available to low and moderate

[11:37] income

[11:39] households

[11:40] but it does allow a mix of incomes but

[11:43] the services themselves must benefit at

[11:46] least 51 of those must benefit low and

[11:49] moderate income households

[11:52] this is a sort of

[11:56] an ongoing

[11:58] process for the next five years

[12:01] that community consultation and input

[12:05] and when the community sees that maybe

[12:08] you need to make some uh amendments or

[12:11] adjustments to the strategic plan

[12:14] then that's what will evolve over the

[12:17] period of the five years

[12:19] and as we all know conditions can change

[12:22] dramatically in just a short period of

[12:24] time

[12:25] if you take a look at the

[12:27] home values for example right now

[12:29] they're extremely

[12:31] almost impossible to to help new home buyers afford a home

[12:38] now that might not be the case three

[12:39] years from now

[12:41] and so the nrsa is designed to allow the

[12:44] community to come back and make changes

[12:46] and amendments where necessary

[12:49] but this this is also a great

[12:51] opportunity to leverage existing

[12:53] philanthropic and private sector

[12:55] investments and i have to say

[12:58] uh bessemer is poised to do exactly that

[13:02] there is so much momentum already

[13:04] underway

[13:05] that in my opinion there is going to be

[13:08] many more opportunities for private

[13:10] sector and philanthropic investments

[13:13] next slide okay all right

[13:15] let me take over another takeover here

[13:19] guys so

[13:20] just wanted to just following up on what

[13:23] gary mentioned that um

[13:26] the the interconnectedness of the

[13:29] efforts in the nrc wanted to talk about

[13:33] what does it take to really

[13:36] um pursue a neighborhood investment

[13:39] strategy as you are aware there are so

[13:42] many challenges in

[13:44] um all of our neighbors of neighborhoods

[13:47] across the country certainly in decimal

[13:50] you you have your your challenges in the

[13:53] nrc

[13:54] and

[13:55] there is no one solution no one agency

[14:00] that can make successful and meaningful

[14:04] change so

[14:06] this is a model that we have used

[14:08] developed you know by a dear friend

[14:14] that talks about

[14:17] what are the elements that it takes to

[14:20] effectively deliver

[14:22] a neighborhood and

[14:23] a neighborhood investment and a

[14:25] neighborhood transformation strategy

[14:28] first it takes some public sector

[14:31] capacity and resources that's a

[14:33] government

[14:34] it also takes

[14:36] not only that there's not enough public

[14:38] money there it also takes private

[14:40] investment capital and lending partners

[14:43] banks credit unions and so on

[14:47] it takes flexible philanthropic dollars

[14:51] that may be used as grants or may be

[14:53] used as low low interest loans

[14:57] it takes having the necessary

[15:00] information to make um decisions at the

[15:03] community level you know how many how

[15:06] many dilapidated units there are how

[15:08] many vacant properties you know who

[15:17] the average value of homes average cost

[15:21] um

[15:22] that reliable data is important in

[15:26] coming up with solutions and being able

[15:28] to to set a benchmark a starting point

[15:33] and to be able to determine

[15:35] um

[15:36] a measure of success when have you

[15:39] reached the success that you have

[15:41] established

[15:42] it takes public policy and advocacy

[15:46] so having

[15:48] people who will whether at the local

[15:50] level uh city council

[15:53] at the county level at the state level

[15:56] to advocate for something like low

[15:58] income hosting tax credits to ensure

[16:01] that uh

[16:02] more affordable

[16:06] hosing rental housing can be built

[16:08] within bessemer and within the target

[16:10] area

[16:12] and it takes

[16:14] intermediaries and implementation

[16:16] partners likes

[16:18] community development corporation

[16:20] for-profit non-profit developers and

[16:23] then it also takes neighborhood

[16:25] non-profit

[16:27] organizations offering development

[16:30] services offering

[16:32] small business services

[16:34] offering workforce development and job

[16:37] training so it takes um it it is said

[16:41] that it takes a village

[16:43] and this model really shows that it

[16:45] definitely takes a village in order to

[16:47] be effective in transforming

[16:50] neighborhoods now we hope that this is

[16:53] what this nrc will do

[16:56] for the the area invested in bessemer

[16:59] and this will either serve as a model to

[17:02] maybe move on to another area

[17:05] and carry out the same strategies

[17:09] um so the boundaries

[17:12] um

[17:12] [Music]

[17:15] korean mentioned the boundaries of the nrc and this is the boundary map um

[17:22] and we

[17:23] you know we added water some of the

[17:26] large employers some of the community

[17:28] assets in here

[17:31] it has a

[17:33] strange shape because we we had to

[17:38] um not include this industrial area here

[17:41] in the middle because of the hot

[17:44] criteria

[17:45] however

[17:47] there are activities like expansion of

[17:51] the block facility there that will

[17:54] provide benefits

[17:57] to

[17:58] the nrc that's that encloses it

[18:09] let me move it and so we're gonna talk

[18:11] about the the

[18:13] what we did in terms of um

[18:17] community input um community input as as

[18:22] gary mentioned is very important throughout this

[18:26] process so upfront

[18:28] we did as much as we

[18:32] could and continue to do to get your

[18:35] input as a community

[18:37] in terms of of helping us to develop the

[18:39] strategies and so on it also is going to

[18:42] take strong community leadership to

[18:45] drive the changes in the community

[18:48] in the nrsa

[18:50] and um this is not just

[18:54] community input at the beginning of the

[18:56] process but throughout the process

[18:59] at least annually after the the nrc gets

[19:03] approved there's a requirement to

[19:06] provide

[19:08] opportunities for input

[19:12] each year at least annually you can do

[19:14] more if you want so what what we did in

[19:17] terms of community input we're having

[19:20] the public meeting

[19:21] we participated in one meeting between

[19:24] the for-profit developer and the

[19:27] housing authority in those projects that

[19:31] they are going to be developed in in

[19:34] near the nrc

[19:35] with the newspaper ads flyers social

[19:39] media we have two online service surveys

[19:43] and we have those surveys still open so

[19:47] between um now and i would say next week

[19:51] tuesday we'll give you an opportunity to

[19:54] go

[19:55] online or to send a survey to to your

[19:59] neighborhood your residents and

[20:02] businesses to participate in the survey

[20:04] but you know by definitely bad cues that

[20:07] will need to close them out

[20:09] we have done interviews um information

[20:12] has been posted on our

[20:14] customers website and then we're gonna

[20:17] have a 15-day comment period once a

[20:20] draft of the application is ready and

[20:22] we'll talk about that you'll also have

[20:24] an opportunity

[20:26] when this is goes before the city

[20:28] council

[20:29] to be able to um comment

[20:32] on the

[20:35] document itself

[20:37] um

[20:38] gary do you want to

[20:39] take over with the survey results okay

[20:44] so we received uh seven survey responses

[20:48] from residents

[20:49] and two from business owners

[20:52] a total of 55 residents responded to the

[20:56] city's consolidated plan survey

[20:59] and when you combine the nrsa with the

[21:02] con plan survey results that's that's

[21:05] what we use to determine the priority

[21:07] needs within the area

[21:10] a majority of the respondents were

[21:12] homeowners

[21:14] mainly in the zip code of 35020

[21:20] most the respondents indicated that they

[21:23] needed

[21:24] major repairs to their homes

[21:27] most residents felt that crime

[21:30] a variety of

[21:32] topics or or categories including

[21:35] drugs alcohol abuse domestic violence

[21:38] robbery

[21:39] burglary

[21:40] and gang activities have had a major

[21:43] impact on the nrsa

[21:46] area

[21:47] and most residents felt that vehicle

[21:49] traffic problems had a moderate impact

[21:53] on the area

[21:55] but the overall condition of the

[21:57] neighborhood was judged by most

[21:59] respondents as fair

[22:10] so the priority needs that were

[22:12] identified from the surveys

[22:14] this art this is not in any

[22:17] uh rank order

[22:19] but

[22:20] it sort of looks like it in some

[22:21] respects uh substandard housing and

[22:24] major repairs to owner occupied housing

[22:27] as well as accessibility improvements

[22:30] maybe for seniors or persons with with

[22:32] disabilities

[22:34] rental housing

[22:36] affordable

[22:37] decent and safe rental housing as well

[22:40] as affordable workforce housing was

[22:42] identified as a priority need

[22:45] more funding for down payment assistance

[22:47] and closing cost assistance

[22:50] is an identified need

[22:52] as well as infrastructure improvements

[22:54] in the neighborhoods like

[22:56] maintenance drainage

[22:59] flood prevention things like that

[23:02] maybe including uh

[23:04] street improvements which is the last

[23:06] item like curb cuts repaving maybe

[23:09] street lighting

[23:10] as well as

[23:11] more public services for seniors adults

[23:14] and i heard a number of respondents who

[23:16] i've talked to

[23:18] uh were very interested in doing youth

[23:20] activities for for young folks to have

[23:22] something to do

[23:24] in the summer after school just several

[23:27] youth activities was a priority

[23:29] and substance abuse crime and safety

[23:32] issues and transportation needs were

[23:34] also identified

[23:36] and then the one

[23:38] constant for almost

[23:39] everything to work is job creation that

[23:42] we

[23:43] need to really focus on ways that number

[23:46] one we can educate and train persons for

[23:49] job openings and then also to try to

[23:52] promote as many job creation

[23:54] opportunities for low and moderate

[23:55] income persons in the area as possible

[24:00] next slide

[24:02] so we have conducted some fairly

[24:04] in-depth interviews with with 10

[24:07] agencies that were highlighted as

[24:10] uh

[24:11] stakeholders or key stakeholders

[24:14] and these these persons represented a

[24:16] cross-section of local organizations

[24:19] from many different areas or

[24:22] focuses

[24:23] the interviews were designed to collect

[24:25] information on what that organization

[24:27] does in the area what their role is

[24:30] and whether or not they have any

[24:32] planned

[24:34] future investments in the nrsa

[24:37] some people have investments coming that

[24:39] might not be located exactly in the

[24:42] boundaries of the nrsa but it will draw

[24:46] uh clients and residents from the nrsa

[24:49] so we we also were interested to know

[24:51] that as well

[24:53] we also were trying to determine the

[24:55] sources of funding for those investments

[24:58] so that if these groups are successful

[25:02] in

[25:02] obtaining funds this might be possible

[25:04] that other groups would be as well

[25:07] we also

[25:10] made an effort to identify

[25:12] potential bank and lending partners

[25:15] we're looking specifically for

[25:17] a bank or a lending partner that has

[25:19] roots in bessemer

[25:21] that has sort of skin in the game that

[25:24] they really want to

[25:26] be a part of this the momentum that's

[25:29] building in the nrsa

[25:32] we also looked at

[25:34] those types of organizations that have

[25:36] experience in assembling volunteers

[25:39] oftentimes you may have just used as an

[25:42] example

[25:43] uh habitat has used volunteers quite

[25:47] often for their new construction and

[25:49] housing

[25:51] activities but there are a number of

[25:53] organizations that that depend on

[25:55] volunteers

[25:56] so we're hopeful that we can assemble

[25:59] this cadre of

[26:01] volunteers that'll that'll work in the

[26:03] nrsa as well

[26:05] the top three

[26:07] most pressing needs in the area uh were

[26:11] affordable housing the lack of

[26:13] affordable housing and the need for

[26:15] housing rehabilitation

[26:17] the other

[26:19] primary uh priority needs were some do

[26:22] something about crime

[26:24] in the area

[26:26] and the other problem

[26:28] primary need was

[26:29] uh activities so public service needs

[26:33] and activities to to help

[26:35] uh

[26:38] both young and senior citizens

[26:44] so

[26:45] the overall consensus

[26:48] of all interviews that were done

[26:51] revealed that there's a high degree of

[26:53] interest in pursuing the nrsa

[26:55] and that there's a strong existing

[26:58] commitment

[26:59] to foster the positive change and build

[27:01] upon the recent momentum that that

[27:03] bessemer is experiencing right now

[27:07] this for me was an experience

[27:10] unlike any other where

[27:12] the level of community pride and strong

[27:15] belief that

[27:17] the conditions can change can significantly improve

[27:21] if we can put together a very well

[27:24] coordinated plan that there's no doubt

[27:27] in my mind that there are a number of

[27:29] organizations that are going to step

[27:31] forward and lead

[27:33] in this nrsa

[27:35] the efforts to obtain

[27:37] funding

[27:38] we do believe will expand following the

[27:40] nrsa designation and approval by hud

[27:44] and and again the five most common

[27:46] challenges or crime reduction

[27:48] the housing conditions

[27:50] another one was the lack of public

[27:52] facilities and parks

[27:54] small business support and food access

[28:03] okay

[28:06] so at this point

[28:08] um

[28:09] we'd like to find out if you know you

[28:12] have any suggestions

[28:14] or concerns

[28:16] any questions

[28:33] anybody else

[28:41] okay so um the framework that we will

[28:45] use for the planning of the nrc is to

[28:50] um

[28:51] come up with some goals what is it that

[28:54] we want to accomplish

[28:57] over the five years and each year

[29:01] of the nrsa period

[29:04] how are we going to accomplish the goals

[29:07] that we have established what strategies

[29:10] will use and then what capacity

[29:15] will we need

[29:17] whether it's staffing whether it's

[29:19] capital

[29:21] um

[29:22] whether it's um

[29:24] partners

[29:26] what capacity will we need to carry this

[29:28] act these

[29:29] activities and strategies

[29:32] carry all these activities and

[29:33] strategies and then what will it cost

[29:37] and then the fourth is is the measures

[29:41] how are we going to know that we are

[29:43] making progress

[29:45] the code requires that we specify

[29:49] some milestones

[29:52] and um do them over the five-year period

[29:56] some annually some over the length of

[29:59] the five-year period

[30:01] um what is not

[30:04] um

[30:05] locking the community into

[30:09] meeting all of those metrics and um

[30:14] or

[30:16] all of the

[30:17] goals

[30:18] but it's recognized that things may

[30:21] change

[30:22] but

[30:23] the what hud wants done

[30:26] is that

[30:27] um as a community you each year you get

[30:30] an opportunity to look at the progress

[30:32] you're making the city will assess its

[30:36] progress what are the reasons why

[30:38] progress may be being made in one year

[30:41] one area but not in another um we're

[30:45] gonna come up with some

[30:46] [Music]

[30:48] realistic goals and

[30:52] mattresses

[30:53] um but

[30:55] you know

[30:56] you cannot

[30:58] make allowances for

[31:00] unforeseen circumstances however

[31:04] it's important that we are able to

[31:07] adjust the strategies maybe try some new

[31:11] ways if we're not making progress

[31:14] maybe shifts um

[31:17] shift around some of the goals so what

[31:19] is flexible that there should be

[31:22] some

[31:23] progress shown there should be outcomes

[31:26] what type you know what types of changes

[31:29] are you seeing in the community um

[31:32] physical changes you're seeing

[31:34] beautification

[31:35] you may be seeing new houses going off

[31:38] you may

[31:39] um

[31:40] [Music]

[31:41] learn about jobs that have been created

[31:43] in the community so this is the planning

[31:45] framework that we're going to use during

[31:48] the five five year period

[31:52] so we want to know look at some of the

[31:54] strategies that we

[31:56] would want to pursue the first one as we

[32:00] mentioned is affordable housing

[32:03] so

[32:04] uh the goal is to build units of

[32:06] affordable housing to increase housing to repair existing

[32:13] owner-occupied single-family houses

[32:16] especially for persons on fixed income

[32:19] who can't do it themselves

[32:22] uh we look at acquiring and

[32:24] rehabilitating vacant properties for for

[32:27] home buying or sale

[32:29] and then during the period the city

[32:32] wants to look at the possibility of

[32:35] doing a feasibility study on developing

[32:39] a land bank

[32:41] and what a land bank is for those of you

[32:43] who may not be be aware is in setting up

[32:46] an entity

[32:48] that will acquire and hold properties

[32:53] to ensure that they are not

[32:56] taken off by investors

[32:59] and to maintain them and then at some

[33:02] point in time

[33:04] um

[33:05] use them for redevelop them for

[33:09] housing

[33:10] or even in some cases use them for

[33:13] recreational um

[33:15] community gardens recreational space and so on

[33:20] and so in here we have the you know what

[33:24] the strategies will be

[33:26] we'll have partner in terms of local and

[33:29] national developers

[33:32] community-based development

[33:33] organizations

[33:35] beneficials will be home owners

[33:38] um special needs population will be

[33:41] working with the public housing

[33:43] authority

[33:45] um and the outcomes will be concentrating poverty

[33:51] increase affordable home ownership

[33:55] increase financial opportunities for

[33:59] residents of the nrc

[34:03] attracting additional funding to the

[34:06] community

[34:07] um and

[34:09] improving the the affordable housing

[34:12] stock

[34:13] so what do you like about these

[34:17] strategies and you know what would be

[34:20] cons any concerns for you or what would

[34:23] you want to change or add to to this let

[34:26] me just pause how many times give you an

[34:29] opportunity to

[34:31] um

[34:32] comment or ask questions

[34:39] make sure you're on youtube

[34:49] anybody had any questions or comments

[34:53] my comment is about the land bank i

[34:56] think that is um key to

[34:58] the affordable housing development so it

[35:00] was good to hear that

[35:05] what sorry could you repeat that i

[35:07] didn't quite catch

[35:10] what you were saying

[35:17] i think you all knew it's still nothing

[35:23] i was excited

[35:24] good to hear about the land

[35:26] okay

[35:36] so in terms of economic development the

[35:39] goal is to create or retain jobs

[35:42] through financial assistance to small

[35:44] businesses or micro enterprises

[35:47] and by micro enterprises we mean um

[35:51] small businesses that uh have

[35:54] um no more than five employees of which

[35:58] one of the employees is the owner

[36:01] themselves

[36:02] um we want to try to develop workforce

[36:06] development services and training

[36:10] funding work workforce development

[36:13] agencies to um

[36:18] to serve on the nrc

[36:21] um

[36:22] as you can see some of the partners they

[36:25] there is going to be

[36:27] um the construction of

[36:32] houses

[36:34] by the the redevelopment corp um

[36:40] china i believe habitat mentioned that

[36:42] they might do some development here the

[36:45] housing authority will be doing

[36:47] development so you will have a lot of

[36:49] new residents to the community

[36:52] um they

[36:54] block

[36:55] um

[36:58] the

[37:00] block

[37:01] company will be expanding so there'll be

[37:04] opportunities for jobs here there is a

[37:07] new

[37:08] um some new businesses coming in in

[37:12] bessemer in general and even outside of

[37:15] besanosimo where there may be

[37:17] opportunities for nrc residents to

[37:21] access jobs um through that so

[37:25] um this is an opportunity to assist um when the the construction

[37:32] of housing is going to happen

[37:35] um on all levels including the housing

[37:38] authority there may be

[37:40] opportunities for construction jobs

[37:44] during the construction and i believe

[37:46] the construction of the

[37:49] authority units will probably occur over

[37:52] the next five years so there will be

[37:54] opportunities for residents to be able

[37:56] to benefit from jobs as well as

[38:00] um

[38:01] you know subcontracts for construction

[38:04] trades

[38:05] on those projects

[38:07] any

[38:08] anything you

[38:10] what do you like about the strategies

[38:12] anything you change anything you want to

[38:15] add to

[38:16] the

[38:17] of things you think anything you think

[38:19] we might be missing here

[38:34] so the the third strategy bucket that

[38:37] we're looking at is to his neighborhood

[38:41] improvements we want to reduce crime in

[38:45] the neighborhood

[38:47] um

[38:48] you know

[38:49] look at some ideas around maybe crime

[38:51] watch or neighborhood associations

[38:55] in the area

[38:57] um we want to look at demolition of

[38:59] unsafe structures increasing code

[39:02] enforcement

[39:04] um beautifying some of the public spaces

[39:08] um within

[39:10] the nrsa creating community gardens

[39:15] pocket parks doing some tree planting

[39:18] neighborhood signs

[39:20] and then also with all of that activity

[39:22] happening

[39:24] with housing being developed

[39:28] um

[39:29] job creation and so on there's going to

[39:31] be the need for public services

[39:35] to be able to

[39:38] support

[39:39] those activities as well

[39:43] so anything here that you would like to change or add or

[39:50] any comments on what you like about

[39:52] these strategies

[40:03] [Music]

[40:10] okay so in terms of implementing the

[40:15] strategies

[40:16] um and as i as we mentioned before you

[40:19] have an opportunity during the comment

[40:21] period

[40:23] and when the nrsa application goes to

[40:26] the city council you will have

[40:28] opportunities here to commence and in

[40:30] your written comments which will be

[40:33] included as attached to the plan

[40:36] as a part of this so in terms of how do

[40:40] we implement this the idea is to look at

[40:44] whether an implementing agency

[40:47] or look at a work group so i think at

[40:49] this point we are considering a a

[40:54] an implementation work group

[40:57] being spearheaded by

[40:59] um

[41:03] korean and his staff

[41:05] and um

[41:07] made up of some of the stakeholders the

[41:10] non-profits

[41:11] um the

[41:15] any for-profit entity any community

[41:18] leaders churches

[41:21] um other non

[41:22] other

[41:23] related non-profit organizations um

[41:27] businesses

[41:29] lenders having a committed committee

[41:33] that will assist the city in terms of

[41:37] implementation and getting the world out

[41:39] and marketing the nrc

[41:43] that is the the

[41:46] strategy in terms of of uh

[41:50] implementing the the activities in the

[41:52] nrc the idea as well is to continue

[41:55] during the five years if there are new

[41:58] any new partners that may be recruited

[42:01] and would want to work with the city in

[42:03] terms of providing um

[42:08] social services or

[42:10] being developers within the nrc

[42:16] [Music]

[42:18] these are some of the planned

[42:20] investments

[42:21] that um this is just a few of them

[42:25] um

[42:26] in

[42:26] within the nrsa and within bessemer

[42:31] for which the nrc may be able to benefit

[42:34] from

[42:36] the economic economic opportunities

[42:38] coming from

[42:40] these investments

[42:42] and again as i mentioned there may be

[42:45] the need for more social services if

[42:47] you're having

[42:48] increased number of houses for sale

[42:51] there's a need for home buyer counseling

[42:55] workforce development training for new

[42:57] jobs financial education for family

[43:01] in common wealth building trying to

[43:03] improve you know do budgeting some of

[43:06] those activities

[43:07] creating community gardens and

[43:10] community safety programs

[43:13] that um

[43:15] to promote more cohesion in the

[43:18] community and

[43:23] make sure that the community the stories

[43:26] the the the

[43:28] positive stories are told about the

[43:31] impact of the analysis

[43:39] um so for the nrsa in terms of

[43:41] performance performance measures we'll

[43:44] have to identify how many hoses where

[43:47] you're projecting to to to build

[43:50] policies and procedures will need to be

[43:52] developed to track performance there

[43:55] will need to be monitoring

[43:57] um data collection

[43:59] again as i mentioned we have ongoing

[44:02] community input and reporting on the

[44:05] progress of the nrc

[44:08] um i'm getting public comments from you

[44:10] as the whole things are progressing

[44:14] so let me um pause at this point again

[44:17] and ask if there are any

[44:19] [Music]

[44:21] questions or concerns

[44:23] or

[44:24] any suggestions

[44:45] and we encourage you to check because we

[44:47] will provide this powerpoint

[44:49] presentation on the city's website you

[44:52] can click on the the

[44:55] link here and it will take you to the

[44:57] community development department's

[44:59] website where there's more information

[45:14] my name is nancy i have a couple of

[45:16] questions if i may yes go ahead

[45:20] okay um

[45:21] looking at the um

[45:24] the boundaries that you have i just want

[45:26] to regress just a little bit to be sure

[45:28] that i fully understand the 35th street

[45:31] north to the north these are areas of

[45:34] lands that are already owned

[45:37] by

[45:38] the federal government or housing

[45:40] authority or what have you

[45:42] those are places where you are planning

[45:44] to

[45:46] build the affordable housing am i

[45:48] correct

[45:51] um

[45:52] taurian could you respond to that in the context

[45:58] of the bonuses

[46:00] yeah

[46:02] should i go to the map

[46:04] yeah if you don't mind go back to the

[46:06] maps up

[46:08] so

[46:09] it's actually

[46:10] the housing authority

[46:12] that actually had some building plans

[46:16] and placements right

[46:18] and it's part of the reason why we

[46:20] included this area

[46:22] in the nrsa is because they've had some

[46:25] plans to do some new housing

[46:26] construction within the general air

[46:30] and uh it's a way to show

[46:32] different

[46:34] uh i guess an expansion of the

[46:36] affordable housing options within the

[46:39] nrsa

[46:40] and that we're bringing

[46:43] as many resources into the areas we can

[46:47] and

[46:48] i know the housing authority has talked

[46:50] about doing uh maybe some new units

[46:54] at southside homes i know

[46:56] and they also had a proposal on the uh

[47:00] that was presented to the federal

[47:02] government for some more housing but in

[47:03] addition to that i know they've

[47:05] mentioned the possibility of working

[47:06] with others in terms of doing some

[47:08] scattered site housing if there are some

[47:10] vacant lots around the city where they

[47:13] can have new homes be built

[47:16] okay

[47:17] so would those homes uh

[47:20] terrain would those homes uh be similar

[47:23] to the ones that are already there

[47:25] to the left or would they be more along

[47:28] the line of the

[47:30] habitat uh homes

[47:33] are we talking to single family homes

[47:36] yes a single family homes or the um

[47:40] the ones that are across dartmouth

[47:42] avenue there to what probably about 36th

[47:45] street i guess

[47:47] the bigger houses from what i saw and

[47:51] what i've seen

[47:52] with respect to what they're proposing

[47:55] they don't look like what's already

[47:57] there

[47:58] um

[47:59] yeah

[48:00] they would look similar to maybe some

[48:02] projects you've seen in some other

[48:04] cities where some of the housing

[48:05] authorities have gone in and renovated

[48:08] uh

[48:08] some of their house units and done that

[48:11] in terms of any single family units i

[48:14] don't think we've gotten as far as what

[48:16] habitat did over on seventh avenue but i

[48:18] know what's said with habitat and

[48:20] melanie you may be able to chime in over

[48:22] on seven but they try to match what they

[48:25] build

[48:26] and they do this everywhere

[48:28] so that it flows with what's already in

[48:30] the community

[48:32] okay okay thank you

[48:35] all right

[48:40] now did you want to time in

[48:44] no i'm sorry answer the question the way

[48:46] i would have

[48:54] no

[48:55] i think that's all i have

[49:06] so

[49:07] we still

[49:11] you know we still want to hear from you

[49:13] as i said you know we leave up the link

[49:16] until next week on tuesday

[49:20] um

[49:21] we are planning to complete the draft

[49:24] and rsa application by

[49:27] um

[49:28] june 15th um and then we put it out for

[49:33] public comment um for 15 days

[49:37] um to the the end of june

[49:41] and um

[49:42] it will be um

[49:45] incorporated with the the city's um

[49:49] annual action plan

[49:51] and an amendment to the consolidated

[49:53] plan and

[49:55] the idea is to submit this to heart

[49:59] by um

[50:01] by july 15

[50:03] and you know we're estimating that cod

[50:06] may take

[50:09] three months or so to

[50:12] approve this

[50:14] and then we will be moving into

[50:17] implementation

[50:30] so at this point um any final questions

[50:36] or any final thoughts

[50:45] we

[50:46] thank you for you for your

[50:47] [Music]

[50:49] taking the time and for participating

[50:56] you want to close out

[50:59] uh thank you chris yeah i just want to

[51:01] thank you

[51:02] for those of you who joined us this

[51:04] evening as he said he we are still

[51:06] taking comments uh if you get a chance

[51:09] if you haven't filled out the survey

[51:12] please do so

[51:13] if you have any questions feel free to

[51:15] contact me here in economic the economic

[51:17] and community development department

[51:20] thank

[51:20] you thank you

[51:23] all right

[51:24] thanks y'all

[51:26] everyone have a great day have a great

[51:28] evening bye

FY 2022-2026 Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area (NRSA) 2nd Public Informational Meeting

Transcript