Hartley Neighborhood Association
7:00 PM: Focus Area Meeting
Regular Focus Area Committee meeting.
Agenda
- Old business (lighting, focus area plan)
- Free to Grow
- Open Discussion
Minutes
The meeting was started at 7pm in the Hartley Elementary School Media Center. In attendance were BarbaraCornelius; MichaelCornelius; EricaCorwin; ChrisLesiak; Shawn Ryba, Neighborhood Coordinator at NeighborWorks Lincoln; Brad Schmeichel, Community Development Program Specialist for the Urban Development Department; and Terry Uland, Executive Director of NeighborWorks Lincoln.
Brad passed out copies of the latest update to the Focus Area Action Plan. He noted that sidewalk repairs in the focus area had been approved and would proceed as weather permits. He also noted that Olsson Associates would look into the increased cost of ornamental lighting over standard lighting; the plan would then go to the mayor for approval.
Terry made a presentation on the Free to Grow program. It is a targeted neighborhood effort. The grantee is Lincoln Action Program. Shawn and Eric Laing are the main staff people on the program. Current target areas include 26th Street between Dudley and Holdrege and 27th to 30th Streets between Dudley and Holdrege. Typically, the target areas are around 100 households with further spot targeting around the area at a later stage. Selection criteria include crime, calls for service, health violations, and litter. Although other areas are under consideration, an area in Hartley overlapping with the Focus Area would be a good candidate for the program. The core team meets at the NeighborWorks office about every other Thursday from 10:30 am to noon. Representatives from the Police Department, Health Department, Building and Safety, Lincoln Action Program, Lincoln Housing Authority, Animal Control, Urban Development, and NeighborWorks attend. If selected, we would need to send someone to represent the neighborhood.
A discussion of the Focus Area Improvement Rehab (FAIR) assistance that is available followed. The loans are to be used to meet Housing Quality Standards and make neighborhood enhancement improvements on the exterior. They would require an inspection. Terry noted that in many cases, the interior improvements would use up all of the money.
The next meeting was scheduled for Monday, Jan 15. (This was later postponed until Monday, Jan 22.)
There was a discussion on problem properties and a suggestion for a "three strikes and you're out" law for littering.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:15pm.