[Left and top-left we've got some pictures from the gathering--above is an architectural concept for what Larimer could look like in the future.]

[$30,000,000 is at stake here, and if the community matches up to the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Federal Grant's expectations enough, they can get it. The leadership to get them there did well in presenting the process, as far as this observer can tell--no one died, no chaos broke out. Working Groups to plan individual parts of the overall plan, like Economics, Housing, Health, etc, were formed and set their first meeting dates. Felt like the community got a fair amount of working knowledge as to what in heck is happening here. And that was what was most important to be communicated here.] 

 [Rough notes follow:]

Ricky Burgess, Councilman & Reverend: Some context and opening remarks

This neighborhood tried for the Choice Neighborhoods Grant first time, didn't work.

“We are in this thing TOGETHER”

“we don't know what it looks like"

we got a template; put that into an action plan; apply for the grant.

[also described some very broad-reaching dreams for the East End in general; “circles of improvement outward from Bakery Square”]

Intro to Fulton from Housing Authority of Pittsburgh: "we're only here because this man believed in you"

Fulton: HACP leader; more contextualization and opening remarks

Ricky told me to DREAM. Woah. What does that mean?

Meant, at the housing authority, dreaming and planning accordingly; gotta communicate through the process, and some disagreements will happen; but we will at least agree that we want to make Larimer the best community we can [applause!]. We don't want to build something transient

Have to protect the dignity of the residents: housing and schools, too.

This is ACTION. Not planning to plan.

Didn't wanna come if there were just a couple people here and there—certain individuals put in a bunch of effort, true—but this is more than that.

Roland: A little bit of history

ELCCC plan, 1998; 2003 Winslow Street plan plus some others (these are all forerunners of what came before)

• “Blueprint Community”

• Larimer Vision Plan in 2010

  • Prepared for the LCG & the many associated organizations within.

Larimer Consensus Group & its five action teams

• • Larimer Green Team + Greenup

  • Redd-up (cleaning up—not greening up)

  • Work & Wellness

  • One Voice – PR arm

    • rezoning,

  • Celebrate

    • festivals, celebrations

• More about LCG:

  • Just come and you can get involved

    • but you gotta get in the game, get off the sidelines. That's what this is.

  • Voting members

    • some spots open

• What is Larimer known for around PGH and even the nation?

  • GREEN NEIGHBORHOOD

• “Change can take you by the throat if you don't take it by the hand.

Brandon Davis: what the neighborhood will look like is not firmly set in place—but we have some milestones and initial templates for the planning process so that we DO have that idea of what it will look like. What are those milestones and templates?

• Land use vision plan & market study

• Timeline: 20 mo's

  • bi-weekly meetings

  • four larger community meetings

• Important ideas:

  • Not expecting 13000 folks back. Consolidate residential core of the neighborhood.

  • Repurpose vacant edges; green it up.

  • GREEN a central idea. Sustainability, energy-efficiency

  • House for a house

• The architects' concept:

  • [He says “not set in stone” many times. Rightly so, probably.] You won't be displaced in some maniacal way. I don't want to see any of my neighbors go—I am a resident.

  • Green places, residential parts, business district

  • [Shows us some nice pictures]

  • Next 12 months: planning how to implement all this.

David Weber: the grant. What does it look like?

• HUD Choice Neighborhoods Initiative

  • Up to 30 mil total

• Vision element—housing not a big enough part yet.

JW Kim: talking about Timeline

• 3 mo's

  • Needs, assets (housing, economic, transport), vision

  • [What do we need, have, and want?]

• 6 mo's

  • workable, doable strategies and programs

  • [How are we actually going to get this done?]

• 3 mo's

  • Larimer Vision to Action plan in place

  • [Getting things firm]

Stefani, Pat, Traci from Jackson/Clark Partners: intro to 5 Working Groups

• Stefani stands up there, says some pleasantries, looks very white and out of place [that's an editorial right there, feel free to disregard]

• [Kevin (not Kevin May, obviously) comes in and says, “this is the meat. This is why you're here.”]

• WE ARE STAKEHOLDERS in this plan.

  • We gotta be PART OF THE PROCESS

• Primary Planning Team: [like 10 groups]

  • And then YOU. Community Task Force.

• [Stefani back up] A sentence about each group, then we'll GET INTO GROUPS

  • Housing: concerned about this? LIVABLE, AFFORDABLE,

  • [Pat]: Being ENGAGED in the community ALONG WITH health and safety.

  • EDUCATION: people coming out of this community—where

  • EMPLOYMENT: JOBS. LIVING WAGE. TRAINING. ACCESS to all that.

    • Here you can CREATE jobs. I believe that. Be part of this.

  • [Stefani] Recreation: and other physical assets

    • green infrastructure

    • urban farms

[This is the group I was in:] Employment and Economic Development Group. [All that was done—and expected to be done—was introductions and setting an initial meeting date.]

• Terrence Davis: Reverend—from a church

• Kevin: rezoning his interest

• Angel: jobs; responsible economic development; living wage

• Jeremy Miles: getting young men in the neig

• Roxanne Thomas: making sure jobs are obtained

• Mary: Learning

• Craig: access and assets, tax programs, EIT credits; taking money and doing right thing with it

• Roland Chriswell: passion is the people in the neighborhood; care

• Commodor: kids need to be promised jobs AND DELIVERED em.

• Emmett: reeducating folks, getting them to be productive

• Jane: Pittsburgh center?

• Maurita: Burgess' office. Rebuilding community

• Jacqueline: some experience from the Hill and model cities there; retail businesses her interest

• Deanna: Lincoln-Larimer is her; She remembers the old Larimer; true blue community; African Community is the perception now; MIXED community; [goes into some fun stories]

• Shad: with Jim Ferlo; coordinating efforts within THIS team

  • Bi-weekly meetings—meeting DATE.

  • Me and Deanna are accountable for making sure that sort of thing happens

  • EVERY THURSDAY we're here at Kingsley

  • LGT, GTECH, and SPARC

  • [Tuesday wins] April 3^rd 6-7pm

[And then we dispersed. I hung around to see the heads of some of the organizations talk business, got something out of that. Can't put it here, though.]