Four meetings, one common goal

I have been fortunate to attend four community meetings within the past week. Four meetings, four parts of town, and one common goal: making their areas of town better.

Here's a review of what transpired. I doubt any of this will grab front-page headlines, but it certainly is refreshing to see so much active community participation.

OCTOBER 3RD
HILLTOP AREA MEETING, AT PALMER COLLEGE
Palmer officials hosted a small meeting tonight to discuss their interest in cleaning up the area around their campus. The college invited neighboring churches, a representative from D-One, and representatives from Central High School. All were concerned about the crime in the surrounding areas and the aesthetics. Palmer is doing their part for sure, leading the charge for the neighborhood. The college is putting the finishing touches on a new state-of-the-art multi-million dollar building and is continuing to purchase and fix up a number of properties. Streetscape ideas were touched on and a desire for a NETS officer assigned to the area was discussed. The college has an enrollment of 1500 students, 1200 of which live in the city and inject a lot of dollars into the economy. The meeting was a positive first step in identifying the desire to move forward in revitalizing the area and tying into the downtown successes.

OCTOBER 3RD
ROOSEVELT COMMUNITY CENTER MEETING IN FIRST WARD
The RCC is moving forward as well. The Boy's and Girl's Club is in full operation. The RCC also is looking to continue building off of the success of West Little League and the adjacent park. Discussions included a kitchen renovation, new landscaping, and an improved parking area. Ald. Van Fossen also received praise for his significant contribution of beautification funds to the RCC.

SEPT. 28TH
GOOSE CREEK HEIGHTS MEETING, IN EIGHTH WARD
The GCH neighbors had 20 members in attendance for a meeting last week. The group is planning to re-market the area to potential residents. The NETS officers have done a great job of eradicating crime in the area. Now the GCH neighbors are looking to promote the area and seek improvements. Ideas include more clean ups, signage, safer traffic patterns, and a network for communication among residents.

SEPT. 27TH
SOUTHWEST INDUSTRIAL AREA, MEETING AT CREDIT ISLAND
I already posted a report on this meeting (see below). Basically, the group would like to improve gateways, utilize URTE and Brownfield programs, and look for growth within existing businesses and from new businesses. Thousands work along this five-mile stretch and millions are generated into our economy. These businesses are major players in our local and regional economy and are banding together.