[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