Monday July 17th, 2006, 6:30-8 PM at Grace Episcopal Church, 3700 Canal Street
- Welcome & Why Being Here is Important (Wendy Laker, 5 minutes)
- History of the Mid-City Recovery Plan (Bart Everson, 5 minutes)
- Questions and Answers with City Council Members/Representatives and Mr. Clifton James (30 minutes)
Note: Chairs and representatives of the committees met on July 16th and formed five questions which are listed below. These questions will be asked first, then questions will be taken from the floor. Please keep all questions focused of the recovery planning process. If you have other questions for your council rep, please write it on an index card provided at the back of the room. - Committee Breakout Meetings (7:15-8PM)
5 Questions from Committee Chairs/Representatives
- All of the committees have been working hard on our recovery plan, and we would like to know how and when our work will be implemented into the actual blueprint for Mid-City. We want to be sure that our community has a voice in the implementation of the rebuilding plan. Our committee is currently looking at a variety of ways to bring old and new businesses to Mid-City. Many of our ideas are not short-term solutions. Is there going to be an ongoing formal structure wherein neighborhoods continue to be involved in the drafting, revising, and implementation of our neighborhood plans, and what will this structure look like? (Economic Development Committee)
- We have strong interests in many projects including a Mid-City Public Library that also functions as a community center, a performing arts center, top level public schooling, free Wi-Fi, and a health clinic in the neighborhood. Can you help us understand exactly what can be funded and what agency (e.g. LRA, FEMA, CDBG, city, grant money) will fund it? Also, should we only be looking at publicly owned property for sites for some of these projects, or can agencies fund the purchase of privately owned property? (Education Committee)
- With the city’s rebuilding plan, who does the prioritizing? How can we as a community be involved in that process to enable us to prioritize our neighborhood’s plan to ensure that we progress, not only with the city, but with our adjoining neighborhoods as well? (Transportation Committee)
- How specific should our plan be? For example, we know that some streets and sewage lines need to be replaced, and should we list each street and sewage line in our plan? (Housing Committee)
- While we’re happy to have everyone here tonight, most of the people who lived in Mid-City before Katrina are not living back in the neighborhood today. Moreover, most of our neighbors who are living in Mid-City are not here tonight. How can you help us to reach out and have more of our neighbors be part of this planning process? (Hearts & Lives Committee)