New Communities Initiative

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New Communities Initiative

• Coming Soon to Wichita Neighborhoods!

City Council County Commission
Presentation May, 2007
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PURPOSE

• To provide background on what the New Communities
  Initiative (NCI) is and how it started
• To describe what NCI looks like today
• To identify the partners/planning team
• To identify the neighborhoods
• To describe next steps

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Background Initial Concept

• City Council approved a pilot project to serve up
  to 150 persons returning to Wichita from Kansas
  prisons (March, 2005)
• City Council approved a memorandum of agreement
  with the State Department of Corrections which
  accepts funds for two City positions to support
  the States Prisoner Reentry project (June, 2006)
• Following are original Prisoner Reentry project
  goals
• Identify housing options for returning offenders
• Create support system for offenders and their
  families

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Background Introduction ofExpanded Concept

• The local Prisoner Reentry project also received
  attention and support from the National Council
  of State Governments (CSG), who recommended a
  broader neighborhood-based strategy
• At the suggestion of CSG, City officials visited
  St. Louis to tour comprehensive redevelopment
  initiatives in that city (June06)
• City and CSG invited St. Louis-based developer,
  Richard Baron to Wichita to discuss the potential
  impact of comprehensive redevelopment on the
  local Prisoner Reentry project (August06)

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Background Expanded Scope

• City, State and County officials met in
  August06, January07 and March07 and agreed to
  expand the Prisoner Reentry project concept to
  include a more comprehensive look at
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Resource integration

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Background What will be different?

• Government officials acknowledged that they had
  been serving the community from individual silos
• The new initiative will pool existing resources
  and create coordinated, comprehensive approaches
  to service delivery
• The new initiative will also create new alliances
  among the many providers

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What does the New Communities Initiative look
like?
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New Communities Initiative Vision

• The City of Wichita, Sedgwick County and the
  State of Kansas have joined together to launch
  the New Communities Initiative. The initiative
  is designed to
• Provide quality housing for all incomes
• Provide employment opportunities for those
  needing and seeking jobs
• Enhance the learning environment across all age
  groups
• Reduce the conditions of blight/Revitalize the
  neighborhood
• Address and positively impact quality of life
  issues
• Develop nurturing opportunities for children and
  youth
• All for the purpose of supporting and enhancing
  successful families and sustaining communities

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New Communities InitiativeOperational Structure
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• Who are the partners?
• Who has participated in planning?

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City/County Planning Participants

• City
• Mayor Brewer
• Council Member Fearey
• George Kolb (CMO staff)
• Mary K.Vaughn (HCSD staff)
• Capt. Felecia Norris (WPD staff)

• County
• Debbie Donaldson
• Rachel Moody
• Mark Masterson (Corrections staff)

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Other Planning Participants

• State
• Roger Werholz (DOC)
• Roderick Bremby (KDHE)
• Don Jordan (SRS)
• David Kerr (Commerce)
• Gary Allsup (KHRC)
• Sally Frey (DOC)
• (Staff of listed State agencies have also
  participated)

• USD 259
• Alicia Thompson
• Council of State Governments
• Jordie Hannum
• Marshall Clement
• Urban Strategies, Inc.
• Sandy Moore
• Esther Shin

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Funding Partners

• CSG identified national foundations interested in
  Wichitas New Communities Initiative
• One such foundation, the Open Society Institute
  (OSI) awarded a grant to CSG, to facilitate the
  resource integration phase which is referred to
  as Human Capital investment/enhancement
• OSI funds are supporting the services of Urban
  Strategies, Inc.

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A New Community Partner

• Centercity Organized Revitalization Effort
  (C.O.R.E.) was recently added as a partner to the
  New Communities Initiative
• A portion of the area that C.O.R.E. has
  identified for redevelopment, is included in the
  coverage area map

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Where is the first NCI neighborhood located?
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Neighborhood Boundaries

• The planning team decided to identify an initial
  coverage area, with a plan to replicate the
  concepts in other areas with lessons learned
• The initial area is identified on the following
  map and is generally bounded by Hillside on the
  east Central on the south Topeka on the west
  (to 9th to Mosley) and 21st on the north
• This neighborhood also corresponds with areas of
  focus for StopBlight and efforts of the
  StopBlight Action Response Team (START)

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NCI Neighborhood 1
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What are the next steps?
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Community Meetings

• Urban Strategies plans to launch a series of
  meetings with community stakeholders to introduce
  the New Communities Initiative, and obtain input,
  feedback and buy-in
• Such stakeholders will include nonprofit
  developers, faith community representatives,
  neighborhood groups and community service
  providers

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Policy Group

• The following persons agreed to serve as the
  Policy Group Mayor Brewer, Council Member
  Fearey, George Kolb, Bill Buchanan, Winston
  Brooks, Dr. Donald L. Beggs, John Moore, Rob
  Allison, J.V. Lentell, James Barber, Dr. S.
  Edwards Dismuke, Anne Corriston, Susan Addington,
  Larry Schumacher, Hugh Tappan, Roger Werholtz,
  Roderick Bremby, Don Jordan, J. Russell Jennings,
  David Kerr, Mark Buckley, Jim Garner, and Kathy
  Greenlee.
• The Policy Group held its first meeting on April
  12, 2007, with plans to meet quarterly.

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Work Group Meetings

• The planning team sought to diversify the
  membership of the five Pillar Work Groups, as a
  gesture toward comprehensive new approaches.
• As a result, the Work Groups include those with
  expertise in the given area as well as those who
  work in complementary fields and who can bring
  new perspectives.
• The Work Groups have held a series of meetings
  and have created purpose statements with
  projected outcomes.
• Most activities are centered around a 12 to 18
  month completion calendar.

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1. Adult Education and Economic Development

• Purpose 1) use available education and training
  resources to increase number of adults ready to
  work and working develop a thriving, engaged
  neighborhood business community 2) increase the
  number of neighborhood businesses
• Outcomes increased number of adults employed
  increased number of adults in skills training
  programs increased access to jobs and training
  information increase of employment rate for
  local residents at neighborhood businesses

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2. Housing for All

• Purpose 1) eliminate blighting conditions that
  prevent community reinvestment and redevelopment
  2) create a range of housing choices and
  opportunities to meet various income levels and
  needs
• Outcomes identify specific number of housing
  units needed in the target area to meet the
  vision (via market study) identify and
  prioritize blighting influences develop and
  implement an education campaign for residents on
  blight elimination and improving and increasing
  housing stock identify sites for potential
  redevelopment

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3. Physical, Mental and Behavioral Health

• Purpose to develop a system that enhances the
  well being of citizens along with the ability to
  serve their needs
• Outcomes collect all needed data establish a
  set of well being outcomes develop an Action
  Plan for a specific health project based on data
  and ready for implementation

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4. Children and Youth

• Purpose improve enrichment activities for
  children and youth during non-school hours
• Outcomes develop a positive set of outcomes to
  measure success compile list of service
  providers meetings with agencies to determine
  existing capacity and assets, gaps in services
  and funding needs

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5. Safe and Secure Neighborhoods

• Purpose 1) improve neighborhood investment and
  appearance 2) reduce environmental hazards in
  the targeted area 3) address criminal justice
  issues in the targeted neighborhood
• Outcomes reduction of houses needed
  improvements more flowers/landscaping more
  individual community gardens increased
  lighting debris and top priority environmental
  hazards are eliminated fewer disturbance and
  nuisance calls to the police less graffiti
  fewer prison admissions and re-admissions fewer
  gang related police calls

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Task Groups

• The Work Groups will identify Task Groups made up
  of additional individuals and organizations with
  expertise in various components of each Pillar
  goal
• The Task Groups will be assembled to address
  specific Pillar goals and strategies and may or
  may not be ongoing groups

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Short and Long Term Next Steps - Summary

• Continue all meetings listed
• Present New Communities Initiative to USD 259
  officials
• Schedule a major launch activity in early
  summer
• Report progress to the Policy Group and the
  community on at least a quarterly basis

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Remarks - Questions

• A representative of the National Council of State
  Governments is present and would like to make a
  few remarks.
• He or any of the staff who have been involved and
  are present, would be happy to respond to your
  questions.