Goals? How could our city be different in 5 years? (Updated x 2)

CDBG Commission needs to hear from you.

Official notice

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMITTEE
PUBLIC HEARING ON 2010-2014 PERFORMANCE, EMERGING TRENDS FOR 2015-2019, AND POTENTIAL PRIORITIES FOR 2015-2019
5:00 PM, November 14, 2013
Rm 260 Madison Municipal Building, 215 MLK Jr. Blvd., Madison WI 53703

The CDBG Committee welcomes verbal or written statements from Madison residents or groups concerning the performance of assisted activities during the 2010-2014 Five-Year Consolidated Plan period, emerging community needs and opportunities, and suggested funding priorities and terms for the next several years. This is the first step in establishing specific objectives and terms of funding for the years 2015-19, within the overall context of the Five Year Community and Neighborhood Development (Consolidated) Plan and the 2015-2016 Goals and Objectives. The Consolidated Plan is used to identify and set funding priorities for the community development program over the next 5 years. The Goals and Objectives set funding priorities and terms for selection of projects to receive funding over the next 2 years as included in the Consolidated Plan.

The Committee particularly invites comments that address these concerns:
1. Were the CDBG Office and CDBG Committee effective in working with community groups to achieve the adopted goals of the 2010-2014 Five Year Consolidated Plan? How can the CDBG Office and CDBG Committee improve their effectiveness?
2. Within the context of the 2015-19 Five-Year Plan and the 2015-2016 Goals and Objectives, where should the CDBG Committee place its priorities for new funding? Which community needs? Which neighborhoods would best be served by revitalization activities?
3. Are there specific opportunities or concerns emerging in the next several years that you feel the City should be addressing through its community and neighborhood development program?

For those interested in speaking at the public hearing, the Committee requests that you keep your remarks to 3 minutes. If you are unable to attend but would like to provide feedback, please submit your comments in one of the following ways:
• Send written comments to the CDBG Office at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, P.O. Box 2627, Madison, Wisconsin 53701-2627
• Fax your comments to the CDBG Office at (608) 261-9661;
• Send the Committee an e-mail at cdbg@cityofmadison.com, or through the CDBG web site at www.cityofmadison.com/cdbg; or
• Phone in your comments to (608) 266-6520.

Please provide your written or phone comments by noon on November 13, 2013;

Your comments will be incorporated into the discussions of the 2015-19 Five Year Consolidated Plan and the 2015-2016 Goals and Objectives.

If you need special accommodations such as a translator or signing person, please call the CDBG Office at 266-6520 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting so that we may make the arrangements for your participation.

Staff request for input:

Dear Community Development Partners:

Please remember that the CDBG committee is meeting this Thursday, November 14th, in room 260 of the Madison Municipal Building. Please join us.

We need to hear from you about what you see as the City of Madison’s needs and how we can best use our money to meet those needs.

– What kind of comments are we interested in?
– What is the need for affordable housing for low-to-moderate income households in our community? What kind of units do we need to produce to meet the need?
– How do we balance our priorities for promoting homeownership with that of providing rental housing?
– How do we balance the needs of existing neighborhood centers with that of high need areas who want to have a neighborhood center built and supported?
– Are their innovative partnerships that can be suggested to address the needs for neighborhood centers in new areas?
– How do we balance the needs of homeless people between providing resources for shelter and assisting permanent affordable housing?
– How do we balance the need for creating jobs and business development with the need for assisting small start up businesses?

These are just some examples. We need you to comment on any need, trend, priority and/or how we’ve done in the past on addressing the community needs, what worked and what didn’t. The CDBG Committee needs to hear your input and feedback in order to have a relevant and balanced 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan and 2015-2016 Goals and Objectives.

Please come to the 5:00 p.m. CDBG Committee meeting on November 14 in Room 260 of the Municipal Building .

At this meeting the Committee will hear your comments on the NEEDS, TRENDS and PAST PERFORMANCE related to the City of Madison Community Development Program.

Mary Charnitz
Grants Administrator
City of Madison

Oh, and there is an on-line survey . . .

City of Madison and Dane County Are Seeking Your Input

Why are the City and County interested?

The City of Madison and Dane County need your input on where to focus the housing and community development funds our local government will receive during the next five years (2015-2019). The City and County are starting a process called the Consolidated Plan, which will determine how the funds will be spent.

In 2013, the City of Madison used the previously completed Consolidated Plan (2009-2014) to allocate approximately $2.8 million in federal grant funds, while Dane County allocated $1.4 million. Currently, funding is focused on four general areas: Affordable Housing, Economic/Business Development, Neighborhoods and Access to Resources. Activities must generally benefit low and moderate income persons. Citizen participation is a vital step in determining community needs, and your input will assist us in determining where we should focus our efforts. Please share this survey widely.

Instructions:
Please complete the following survey by November 26, 2013: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ConPlan2015-2019

Attached is a a paper copy. Surveys need to be completed and submitted to City of Madison Community Development Division by November 26, 2013. Completed surveys can be mailed to:

Community Development Division
215 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Rm 225
PO Box 2627
Madison, WI 53703-2637
Or emailed to cdbg@cityofmadison.com

If you have any questions please contact City of Madison, Community Development Division at 608-266-6520 or via email at cdbg@cityofmadison.com

There are two comments already, add yours!

From: Gayle Ihlenfeld [mailto:GIhlenfeld@ywcamadison.org]
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 8:54 AM
To: Stonestreet, Peggy
Subject: RE:

Hi,
We need affordable (to low-income persons) apartments (2 to 4 bedrooms) for families with children. Additional Section 8 vouchers would be helpful so that families could afford what few apartments are available. At the same time, we need a day shelter for all homeless people (singles and families), and expanded overflow night shelter for everyone. It’s unconscionable that we are turning families with children away from shelter almost every night!

Thanks,
Gayle Ihlenfeld

From: Weier, Anita
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2013 9:30 AM
To: Stonestreet, Peggy
Subject: RE: Input for CDBG on community needs
To the CDBG Committee:

Since I will be unavailable on Nov. 14, I am sending a few thoughts in response to your questions.
Thank you for asking.

We do need more affordable housing in our community, but it should not be added in the same areas where it currently exists, such as the Northside of Madison. It’s important to offer affordable housing throughout the city and throughout the county if possible, instead of crowding people together in sometimes substandard housing in certain areas. I believe that schools with students with various income levels can reduce the achievement gap.

Also, affordable housing should be located close to employment centers.

Why not include a few affordable apartments in the large complexes being built to house high-income people?

Regarding housing for the homeless, much attention is being focused on single-room occupancy buildings, while homeless families are not getting nearly as much attention.

I believe we should support efforts to rehabilitate vacant structures — large and small, residential or commercial — for housing.

On the Northside, a Brentwood neighborhood center might not be needed if more programs for lowincome children and families were offered at the nearby Warner Park Community Recreation Center.

Apprenticeships are extremely important, as is mentoring.

As our city’s population ages, I would like to see more emphasis on volunteer programs — such as Schools of Hope — where retired people could help disadvantaged children and their parents by tutoring or in other ways.

Thank you for all the work you are doing and for considering my thoughts.
18th District Alder Anita Weier
district18@cityofmadison.com