HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-17-1997 Meeting
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SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE
ON BLIGHTED AREAS
COMMITTEE ROOM - July 17, 1997
10:00 A.M.
PRESENT: Hon. Freddie Handy, Commissioner; Randy Oliver,
Administrator; Jim Wall, Attorney; George Patty, Planning & Zoning;
Rob Sherman, License & Inspection Dept.; Ms. Charlotte Watkins, Mr.
Willie Cooper, Father Bohler, Mr. Ross Snellings; Francine Parham,
HND;and Lena Bonner, Clerk of Commission.
Mr. Handy: The purpose of this gathering here today is to try
to come up with some ideas, some brain storming and some ways to
better use the ordinance that was proposed to us by our
Administrator about the blighted areas and the signs to try and get
the home owners to clean up their property. And this is what this
meeting is all about. This is not the full committee, everyone who
lives in that area has a concern of Augusta, as a whole, is welcome
to be a part of this committee. And we are here today to try to
come up with some ideas and try to put some things together in
order to make things better. The floor is open for ideas.
Ms. Watkins: When most property owners read about this in the
paper, what we thought was that there is agreement that everybody
that's concerned with the government, property owners, residents of
the area and sometimes they are both are in agreement that this
area looks pretty bad and that something needs to be done about it.
Where we seem to be in disagreement is, how this is done and what
is done. All of us are fully aware that this present government,
is not responsible for some of the well meaning policy that were
implemented for, which we think is really just adding to the
problem. We think that this is a complex problem. That there are
many factors that go into it being this way. All that being said
and done, what can we do about it? There is already in effect, I'm
not sure what you would call it, but periodically, people. are
required to take down property, buildings are condemned and they
take it down. Since most of the people who are now owners of this..
property, really are well meaning and trying to be good citizens,
have done this, at personal expense to themselves. What should
have been, I'm not sure this has always happened, but decreased in
the value of the property, therefore, property has increased and
what the tax base is. But, what we have found, is when the
property is taken down and it's taken in pieces. I remember,
really first becoming aware of it, since I don't live in the
neighborhood anymore, but do have real concerns about it, remember
someone saying to me, it looks like an armed area and the next time
I looked at it, it does. There is a vacant lot here and a vacant
lot there, what you have then is that people move away, and the
vacant lots become over grown. Property owners find that,
periodically, we are cited if we don't get it done fast enough. In
the summer months it's often difficult to get it done fast enough,
without property being over grown. It is expensive to get a lot
cleared. I have had two lots that I have not been cited for and I
have two lots that I have cleared this summer for a total cost of
$675.00. And I was lucky that I could get it done for that. We
think that if we could come up with some kind of ideas, instead of I
just demolishing, thinking of how we might build up, if we start
with the idea, we want to try to preserve the neighborhoods. We
think it muse be a way to do this. I was in Macon last weekend and
they have the same problem with blighted areas. What they are
doing seems to be focused on how they can rebuild these
neighborhoods. The city of Macon is working with private concerns,
mostly banks, to help people become homeowners. One of the things
that was suggested that might help, if there can be once again,
started in the inner city, specific days for picking up trash and
rubbish. We know you can't do this everyday, but what I hear is
that it's not picked up there on a regular basis.
Mr. Oliver: Are you talking rubbish and trash or white goods?
Ms. Watkins: Rubbish and trash.
Mr. Oliver: Because right now and maybe it's
advertisement thing, trash is picked up in all areas of
twice per week, but at different times, and as far as
that's schedule is fixed in every neighborhood.
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the City
I know,
Ms. Watkins: What I'm hearing is that this is not what's
happening in the neighborhoods.
Mr. Oliver: Well, do you live in that neighborhood? Or is I
there someone here who lives in that neighborhood. Because I've
not heard any complaints in that regard.
Mr. Wall: Are they not coming at all, or are they not coming
on a regular scheduled basis?
Mr. Cooper: Regular trash is picked up twice a week. In my
neighborhood, it's picked up on Monday and Thursday. I see some
other cans sitting out with lawn clippings and leaves that is
picked up once a week in my neighborhood.
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Mr. Oliver: And is that happening. You're getting it picked
up on Monday's and Thursday's regular still. I can give you a
rough rule of thumb and we can look at changing that contract if
everybody wants that. What they call that is white goods pick-up,
which are basically things that are larger than trash. Sofas,
mattresses and refrigerators. And typically, the cost of that on
average is about $3.00 per house, per month. And, clearly if the
Commission wants to, you could look at incorporating that into as
part of the services provided in the City. I wasn't here when that
was done, but I'd heard that there was some discussion about
whether white goods should be in there, The argument was that some
people will use it some people won't. But frankly, I'm supportive
of that, personally, however, after I got here I was supportive of
mandatory garbage, which would have included to pick up white goods
and that was not something that the people in the community want.
Ms. Watkins: Why weren't people in the community interested
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in that?
Mr. Oliver: Because the feeling was that it infringed upon
their right to select whoever the hauler of their choice was, who
did them a good job and it didn't give them the freedom to change
from one hauler to another. A lot people indicated that they pooled
their garbage together and some of them took it to the landfill
themselves. And I still think that mandatory garbage is something
that can be very desirable, but again, that's a decision that the
Commission and the public hearings had to be made and the consensus
was that wasn't something people wanted at this particular point
and time.
Ms. Watkins: So, what we have is that in some neighborhoods
people preferred that this not take place.
Mr. Oliver: That's correct.
Ms. Watkins: From what I've heard when I've talked to people,
was not of a selective group with whom I've talked, they thought it
would be good if it did take place. Now of course, we have to set
a background. They thought it would be good if it took place.
Because we've had the experience of people not getting and taking
trash to the landfill, but putting it on the lots that were vacant
and then it becomes the responsibility of the people who own those
lots to haul it away.
Mr. Oliver: That was something else to say that I was
supportive of. Commissioner Handy who attended the public hearings
and some ranked pretty closely the other way. And whether that was
representative totally of the community, I can't answer that.
Ms. Watson: Maybe someone else in here has another idea,
because, as I say it is expensive for me and expensive other people
when they dump it on their lots.
Mr. Sherman: The day that I went out with Ms. Watkins, she"
was showing me the lot that she was having cleared and it was full
of debris that the person cleaning the lot would have to make
several trips to the landfill to depose of. One thing that we
discussed when we were just throwing ideas around, was that most of
the people in these neighborhoods is not going to have the means of
getting this white goods to the landfill. What we were talking
about was if we put one of the large dumpsters in the various
neighborhoods, in some location and gave them the property owners
the access to dispose of the goods, but they still have to get it
from their property to the dumpster, but it's not as far as having
to take it to the landfill. The problem and the other thoughts
that came up about that were, would people just dispose of the
white goods or would they then put their household trash and
everything else and litter all around the dumpster because there
would be no way to police them. There would be a person there
policing it everyday to see that the trash actually got into the
dumpster. But, it would be, as far as convenience, it may be a
means of giving people access to a dumpster for disposing of those
white goods. I
Mr. Oliver: Augusta Clean & Beautiful has a program very
similar to that. If somebody wants to do a neighborhood cleanup,
they can do that twice a year. My problem with dumpsters and I
think that you can ride down some of the adjacent counties and you
will see, it's just what you're saying, that they tend to be a
maintenance nightmare and then the next thing that you have is you
have somebody who lives in the outside of the former city and then
they decide, well I can save a couple of bucks on my trash, if I
had it, I'll swing by here every morning and I'll pop my trash in,
and then it just becomes a maintenance nightmare. And my
experience has not been good along that line at all.
Mr. Snellings: what you mentioned just then, with the Clean
& Beautiful, maybe just a couple of cleanups a year, maybe one in
the fall and one in tne spring. Everyone would just have to do the
best they could to maintain the properties in the interim periods
and on the cleanup day have the facilities there and not just a
small dumpster but a long hauling dumpster, where they could bring
what they need to dispose of.
Mr. Oliver: Well, my preference is to provide curb side
service frankly, and anything brought to the curb is taken care of
because even if you have a neighborhood cleanup, you still have to
have somebody that's physically capable and able to carry whatever
debris it is to this central point, and some people aren't I
phys{cally able to do that.
Father Bohler: Well, who is when you are talking about a
refrigerator or range. Mr. Oliver, you mentioned a hearing where
the opposition seemed to be against the kind of routine picking of
white goods. The composition of that had something to do with it.
It would help to get some of the people affected to those hearings.
But the people have an agenda or something like that, they can be
marshaled and brought there. It seems to me it would be as Mrs.
Watkins has presented it, that the people knowing that you are"
speaking about, what $3.00, it seems to me that would be preferable
to the energy one loses in taking this stuff out of their house and
going to the landfill. So apparently, I don't know what notice was
given or whatever, all I know is that the vested interest appeared
to have shown up, because what you were talking about makes all the
sense in the world and that would clear up a part of the problem.
Mr. Oliver: When did we have those meetings? Was it January
or February.
Mr. Handy:
January.
Mr. Oliver: Because I think there were eight hearings in all I
eight districts.
Well both. It started in December and ended in
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Ms. Bonner: And some had two.
Mr. Handy: My district was the last to have a meeting, and I
just knew I had garbage pickup, I was sold on it. I just knew
everybody would want, but at the end no one wanted it. And we had
some people that attended every meeting and had their own groups to
kill this.
Mr. Oliver: It's been my experience that if somebody is going
to pay for a service, then they will use the service, because there
is no incentive to dump it in the wrong place if they can take it
to the curb.
Father Bohler: But you are speaking of neighborhood pride and
other things two. If they don't pickup mine, I would still be
interested ~n keeping my neighborhood up and retaining the
character of that. In some instances you just have two define that
for some of the people who are not involved immediately, and that
can be done, just give them time. "
Mr. Handy: That Clean & Beautiful, we did it in the Turpin
Hill area. We had dumpsters spotted in different locations and had
the people bring trash and everything to it, for a whole weekend.
We did the same thing in Hyde Park and that worked out real good.
If we could get that started back in every area, till we get the
bulk of everything out, and then start letting the people know,
trying to get some incentive of the people to keep the neigr~orhood
clean. The only difference in that is I don't know what the cost
of that would be. We need to look at that and try to put it
together.
Father Bohler: I think we have got to look at all of it.
Within the context though, of the quality of living that the city
of Augusta desires. I read an article about nine or seven generals
who retired and they have to decided to remain here. It would be
nice to recruit them out of retirement and to retread them being
retread and help them work with some of these problems. In all"
probability they will live far from the maddening crowd. And it
might be a good thing to attract those people and tell them that
you are now a part of a pride city. And I think that's a part of
our task, to looking at the whole city. Yes, we will look at the
blight, but I think that there are other things, other roots, other
causes of this blight that will make this committee extend on
beyond and at heart of the mentality.
Mrs. Watkins:
Is the City still planning to put those signs
up?
Mr. Oliver: At the time being we have not done anything. And
let me tell you where we are at on a couple of things. We believe
that we will be getting a sum of money within the next couple of
weeks and that I will be going to the Commission and asking them to
appropriate $250,000 to do some property demolition. There has
been no property demolotion in this city, in my opinion, done to
any, at least by government in the last several years. And I'm not
talking about things that are occupied, I'm talking about burned I
out houses, things that are not rehabilitate. And perhaps one of
the definitions we need to come up with is what is rehabilitate. In
other words, if you put 25 or 50% of the cost of the property into
it, I think we can all probably agree that that's rehabilitate. If
you have to put two or three times the cost of the property into,
then I think that probably isn't financially doable. But, Mr.
Sherman's department has issued condemnation or has issued things
that the property is unsafe and should be demolished on some sixty
to one hundred properties, already. And what we are looking for is
a funding source to take those sixty to one hundred properties, he
has identified them. As I say it needs to be done on a case by
case selective basis. But that's currently what we are looking at,
because of the funding and funding has been a problem.
Father Bohler: Mr. Oliver, I would like to request if it is
at all possible that some kind of working together on this, if
nothing more than acting in a consultative role, and I speak not
just for myself, but for members of the community who do value
what's there. I would like to ask for just a citizens courtesy of
being involved in the case by case study of these places. Because
there are t.imes when one group may seem a house is not being
rehabilitate but there are others of us who have an emotional
connection to that and we may be willing to walk a little farther.
Mr. Oliver: There is an Appeals Board, and maybe if we would
discuss the process. When Mr. Sherman's people go out and
determine initially, when they look at a piece of property and
evaluate the structural integrity of it, the building envelope as
it relates to coding that. And they do an economic analysis.
Based upon what they have done, and in my opinion, virtually all of
these particularly at this point are not complex decisions, because
of that. Then the property owner is notified. If the property
owner disagrees with the assessment, ok, there is a board that they
can bring that to as an appeal. And they can say we want to rehab
this house and the Board and I think that there are some openings
on that Board. And we would be more than willing with the
Commissions approval to have you serve in that capacity, if you
want. But then the person comes in and says I want to rehab this
and we'll get to the point of saying, ok that's find. That's what
we are all interested in to give the community rehab, can you do it
in six months or twelve months, or what is your schedule for doing
it. The fact that they just say they want to rehab it, they need
to have a plan. Because the ultimate goal is to enhance the
quality of life in the community. But, that's the process at this
point. If you are interested in serving on that Board, that would
be fantastic. We welcome people that are willing to serve in that
role. I think that Lena can get you a Talent Bank Application.
Father Bohler: I'll accept a welcome.
Mrs. Watkins: Where are the sixty to one hundred properties
located?
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Mr. Snellings: How many of these are located in the historic
district? Because I've had some reports that houses have been
taken to Judge Paschal's court that are located in Bethlehem
historic district, that have not been before the Preservation
Commission. And that's a role that we've played for many years was
to evaluate to see if they had any historic integrity.
Mr. Sherman: I can't tell you where they are right here right
now. I can, if we get together later. What we'll have to do is get
a computer printout of where all the properties are. Most of the
ones that we are talking about are really condemned for occupancy.
They will be in various stages of severity.
Mr. Snellings: Right. And I mean often times we have found
them to be truly to be burned out and beyond repair. But we've had
a number come through the commission houses that appear to be
perfectly structurally sound, have a lot of architectural
distinction and character to them and there is just no way they
should be on a demolotion list. There are plenty that should be on
there I agree. But that was our function, was to pullout the ones
that should not be up for demolotion.
Mr. Oliver: Mr. Sherman and I talked about that yesterday,
and the fact that we needed to make sure that anything within that
particular area went through the proper process, to insure that
happens.
Mr. Snellings: Because I've had
houses in Bethlehem that have been
Paschal's court that I haven't seen.
calls that there has been
going straight to Judge
Mr. Sherman: In the past, I think there have been just some
uncertainties about the historic districts. The inspectors are
aware of where those districts are now. They will all be going to
Paul DeCamp first, to identify for sure for certain whether or not
they are actually in the historic district.
Mr. Snellings: I think that he can provide you with a set of
maps that can save you a lot of effort.
Mr. Sherman: We have those maps. But that would also,
checking with him we would find out if the property has already by
chance gone through that process. But we are also requiring that
they give us a letter or certificate of appropriateness or that it
has been through that process before they are issued a demolition
permit. The ones that are marginal, rather or not they should come
down. What Mr. Oliver just said and what we discussed yesterday is
that if a person ,chooses to board the house up in leu of
demolishing the house, we have got to have some time frame, a year
or six months. And we have got to have a process for properly
boarding it up so that it is secured, so that someone can't still
get in it. And I think that we can work with the individual
property owners within some parameter of a time frame. But, from
the date that the discussion goes not five years down the road,
because by then, what would you have left standing if it has not I
been addressed. But I think those things can be worked out.
Mr. Oliver: Rob and I had this conversation yesterday. We
believe that there should be constraints on boarding up houses. To
go out and board up a house and just leave it that way for five or
ten years, it will not make that house any better. It will be that
much worse, it like leaving your car in the garage for five or ten
years, it won't run. And one of the things that we talked about ~s
that if somebody boarded up a house to require a process that, as
Rob said, one year, and then you have to decide what you want to do
with it.
Mr. Snellings: I think a lot of it comes down to the method
in which a house is boarded up. We've got some flyers I've seen
available, I think they were developed originally by the National
Parks service on how to board up a house so that it truly will stay
boarded up. fu,d I'm not just talking about tacking up plywood.
And I think that if that is done in the first instance, and it's
done correctly so that there is some room for ventilation, things
can stay boarded up and remain secure if they are monitored from
time to time for a long time and I don not see the demolition as
being a solution, if that's the way to save the neighborhood is to
tear it down, I don't see that as making much sense. Now certainly
there are individual examples that are beyond anybody's belief of
anything that could be restored, but I think that if the money is I
spent on demolishing buildings, if that same amount of money, half
of it was spent towards securely boarding it up with strong backs,
I mean with 2x4's on the inside of the window frame holding the
plywood in so you can not just pullout the nails from the outside.
That we are maybe going to buy sometime to hope for a revival in
this neighborhood, that once they are demolished they are gone.
Not to say there aren't some that should be demolished. The
$250,000 you're talking about getting, there is definitely some
demolition work that needs to be done. But if we can get some
funding some how to establish maybe a small revolving fund, like
the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation has done, something
similar to what Macon has done, and find an area, I think the
Bethlehem area would be a good candidate for that and pick like a
block of ten houses all together, you couldn't go scatter shot with
it and use this funding to acquire these houses to rehab them and
then sell them to carefully selected buyers or possibility rent
them to very carefully selected tenants. And I think we could
establish a nucleus of regeneration by doing that. And I think
some of the work that has been done with urban development money in
the past, in these neighborhoods has been done scatter shot, like
you do one house out of the block, like the whole rest of the block
is dilapidated, but one house is done, that's not going to work.
Because the rest of the houses is going to drag that one down. But
if we could somehow secure through either tax delinquency or just
out right condemnation for the houses being substandard and I
probably through purchase very, very cheaply, I'm sure you could
get some of them. Get Like five or ten right together in an
enclave where could really make an impact, I think that's something
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that we should consider.
Mr. Oliver: Let me mention two things, we're working in that
regard in two targeted areas, one is over towards where the Georgia
Gas Light project is and there is an area in Laney Walker. What I
would encourage you to do, and we have created a Land Bank
Authority which is going to give us a lot of flexibility as it
relates to doing something and disposing of property. The one
thing I would encourage everyone here to do is that the CDBG
Program is the vehicle for doing these things and now is the time
for that, because the way that funding is going to be allocated in
'98 is currently on the table. And so if you have a proposal as to
how that funding should be used and there was $689,000 this year
allocated to a similar type of effort in Laney Walker, I would
encourage you to move.
Mr. Snellings: And let me make it clear that I am not talking
about spending money, I'm not talking about a sinking fund, I'm
talking about a revolving fund and the way this thing would have to
work is, money would be spent to acquire and renovate the houses
and then the houses would be sold and money would come back into
the revolving fund. And of course we would have to have the banks
work with us on this and then that money would back and then more
houses could be bought and redone in the same way. An I think that
you would know early on whether or not it was going to work or not.
Mr. Cooper: When you look at Florence Street over there by
Antioch Baptist Church, they didn't tear those houses down and they
look good. If you keep tearing down houses you wouldn't have any
houses in some areas.
Mr. Patty: I think that to solve any problem you have to
understand it. I say this having spent ten years with Community
Development and I've got a fair understanding of the problem, it's
serious and it's deep. What it all comes together to say is that
young people don't want to live in these neighborhoods. In a lot,
of these neighborhoods you have all these rental houses and what
that translates to is frankly, is economics, the people that own
that housing, in spite of the concept that this is a simple problem
that a bunch of rich landlords from west Augusta own that property,
that's just not true. I've run it in the computer and in fact the
typical owner of somebody that lives in the neighborhood or
somebody that inherited the property lives somewhere else and the
economics are just not there to fix it up. There is no demand for
it. So, if you are going to try and take a rental house that has
serious code problems, and you want to bring it up to code and you
want to use contractors to do it, you'll spend $10,000 doing.
There is no return. The rent potential is not to ever get it back.
I think that the solution to a big part of this problem boils down
to, is rental rehab. I can tell you through the cities programs
from '85 to '95 or '96, we had a rental rehab program that was
never pushed. We have relied on some State funds and they were
sporadic, rental rehab from staff standpoint is real labor
intensive, it's a real problem and the way that we provided the
assistance was not nearly on a large 'enough scale to make it I
attractive to landlords. Not addressing the problem with the
housing that are possibly on the border line or in need or
demolition right now, but the other ones right behind it. I think
that we have got to look at next years Block Grant Funds for some
serious money for rental rehab, I'm talking big money one hal f
million to a million. And I think that we have to make it
available to people who want to do rehab.
Mr. Oliver: From my conversation with Mr. Sherman, Savannah
,doesn't allow houses to be boarded up, they either say fix them up
or take them down.
Mrs. Watkins: And that's Savannah, and this is Augusta. If
we can get guidelines for properly moth balling a place and then
paint the outside so that is does not pull away from the appearance
of the other houses. One thing that we talked about yesterdav is
using the, what use to be the Bethlehem Community Association H;use
as an example of what can be done. Because that was vandalized and
the doors were taken off and the people went in and took out all of
the equipment, it was very discouraging. But we talked about doing
this is we could go ahead and do this, now this is in the middle of
houses that are vacant on either side, but it maybe it could show
what could be done. And that could be done in about thirty to
forty five days.
Mr. Sherman: On boarding houses, if we are going that route, I
and we give the property owner this option, in my mind what I can
visualize, is requiring the house to be at least painted and a
proper roof on there at least to prevent leaks. But for the
interior of the house, screwing it in rather than nailing, making
it a little more difficult to get it out, put vents in it just so
that you get some ventilation. What do you think of that what,
what do you think of a time period, six months or a year, or do you
think requiring painting. That would be minimal improvements to
the house rather to moth balling.
Father Bohler: I would suggest, though that we have a
community meeting and get some input from persons involved and kind
of access their ability to respond within a six month period or six
year period or one year period, because we are speaking here, but
we don't know what others involved will be capable of at all. If
we can pull together a community meeting and just go over with them
this idea.
Mr. Oliver: We would be glad to participate.
Father Bohler: Alright then, in fact we would want you to.
In fact it seems to me I hear Mr. Oliver speak and Mr. Handy and we
have others, and it looks like we will be a team and we will be
working with a lot of different people.
Mr. Oliver: The one thing I want to guard against in the
community meetings, is you all are well aware of that it tends to
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be sometime you go to these meetings and' the answer is, well for
government to give us the money to rehab these houses that tends to
be the answer, but we don't have that kind of money. And that's not
fair to everybody else. Is there some money available? There is
through the Community Development Block Grant Program, but those
funds are very limited, and it's a matter of making sure that we
use them to the best way possible.
Father Bohler: I do wish to work with you and when you speak
of the rehabilitating and all of that, that has to be done. But we
have kind of passed over the those children and I am going to have
to work with those children and try to help steer them in another
direction. I see long range plans and short range plans. The
short is to preserve what we have and the long is to look at the
causes as to why things got to where they are. Because we are not
talking about just property, but people as well.
Mr. Oliver: The thing about this is you hit the nail on the
head. If the people do the right thing, I'll guarantee you that
the property will be great.
Mr. Wall: We have got to recognize that a lot of people are
not willing to spend any money on their property, whether it be to
moth ball it or whether it be to tear it down or whether it be to
mow the grass. They will simply just not want to do it. In the
past, the government has been ham strung from the standpoint that
they frankly didn't want to buy properties in at tax sales.
Hopefully, the Land Bank Authority will provide a mechanism by
which some'properties can be put back into a revenue generating
capacity. But in developing the guidelines, for moth baIlers, I
think that'we have to realize that in some peoples minds that's
going to be the same, they are not going to be willing to do that
and we are going to wind up with that property in the Land Bank
Authority and have to deal with it from that standpoint. Because
already I'm being contacted and I suspect that it's going to
increase, of people wanting to get rid of their property, rather
than having their names advertised on a tax sale, they're saying'
I'll give you the property. Because they don't want that on going
responsibility to mow. And that's something that the Land Bank
Authority and the Commission is going to have to decide, how many
of those properties do they want to accept. Because then we
inherit the responsibility of maintaining those properties, we
inherit the responsibility of moth balling the properties, we
inherit the responsibilities of how long those properties will be
moth balled before we do something with them. It is going to be a
complicated process from the standpoint that it's still going to
take some money and it's going to take some desire on the part of
the neighborhood to get involved in the process to keep those from
sitting there on a long term basis. '
Mrs Watkins: Well there's on thing that we've said is that
this it's not just a one size fits all solution. It will be a
combination of things. You've mentioned the Land Bank for people
who would like to just get out from under this burden, moth balling
houses for people who might feel that in some point and time they I
might be able to do something with this with an exceptional time
being set. The rental rehab program that was proposed some time
ago and never got any place. We've mentioned a revolving fund, so
that there are funds that maybe able to preserve houses, especially
in the historic district. And doing the type of thing that Antioch
has done, and keeping this going so that it does improve.
Mr. Oliver: We also need to put on the list for discussion,
a block captain program. What a block captain program does is, one
person on that block basically communicating with their neighbors
and trying to influence them favorably in helping to keep up the
neighborhood pride.
Ms. Bonner: A group of neighbors got together and went in and
cleaned off a lot and they were calling us because our people won't
pick it up. They wanted to know if they had to pay to have it
picked up. We need an educational program out there to educate the
public on how to go about doing these things and the proper
agencies that they need to contact. But there again that's where
your block captains would come into play, if they had this
information they could see that neighborhoods could get this
information.
Mr. Cooper: When a
responsible for maintaining
the property owner does not
house is torn down, who will be
the lot? Once the house is torn down
take the time to maintain the lot.
I
Mr. Snellings: Do we have an opportunity of getting a cluster
of houses together?
Mr. Oliver: With the Land Bank Authority we do. We're trying
to assemble two super blocks in two areas. What we want to do is
take the two blocks and doze it to the ground, to take and make it
a gated type community situation, vacate the street and then come
back with a development opportunity. We have not decided who will
be doing the developing. The Commission has not signed off on the
approach yet. Rob Sherman will be out this week getting contracts
to do property demolotion on a per square foot basis on the
properties that are determined that do need to be taken down. And
we should within the next month be coming to the Commission
with an RFP to seat those developers. Because we have to leverage
private sector funds into this. It just will not work without it.
One of the areas that we are looking at is over the Georgia Natural
Gas sight. They have made some overtures about giving us that
property. And the other sight is in the general Laney Walker area.
Ms. Parham: Is this something you need to consider for our
Block Grant Application in '98?
Mr. Oliver: That would be terrific. As I said the Commission I
last year for this year awarded $689,000, I believe to the Laney
Walker area for revitalization. I just got a plan from their
consultant yesterday as it relates to revitalization. Part of it
I
included residential components and part of it included expansion
of the Galleria.
Mrs. Watkins: The residential component is what?
Mr. Oliver: I'm not far enough into that to be able to tell
you. They are proposing some property acquisitions, and I can't
even tell you the streets.
Mr. Handy:
Eighth Street.
Some of it is in Summerville area and some of
Mr. Snellings: I know that you are aware of the fact that
although Laney Walker is not a local historic district it's
national register a federal historic district. And if you use any
federal funding you can't be tearing down historic buildings with
it.
Mr. Oliver: Again the proposal was first received by us
yesterday. It still has to get the sign off and the blessing of
the Commission.
Mrs. Watkins: And what do you plan to do with it?
plan to expand the Galleria?
Do you
I
Mr. Oliver: That's what they are proposing. As I said they
have been awarded $689,000, in funding. And that funding is
contingent upon them bringing a more definitive plan back as it
relates to the use of those funds. And this is their step at it
and the Commission may elect to say, yes that looks good or no we
want modification to it. But this is the first step in that
process.
After further discussion;
Mr. Oliver: They are proposing a 3-1 leverage on it. That
they will get $3 private dollars for every $1 public dollar through'
the CBDG Program.
Mr. Handy: This Committee could meet at any time deemed
necessary to come back together and come up with some ideas. I
think it would make it a little easier for us, that the next time
we come together if you could have some things written down and
then we'll try and get an agenda to go by and make the meeting a
little easier. And from then on in we'll know what we are speaking
of, and take one step at a time. Because there were a lot of things
thrown out here today and a lot of things that could make this a
good committee in solving some of the problems that we have here.
Mr. Cooper; if you want to reactivate your neighborhood association
in the Bethlehem area we'll be glad to come out for a meeting.
I
With no
adjourned.
further
business to discuss,
the meeting was
Lena J. Bonner, Clerk of Commission