Southside Neighborhood Association
The Derrick
(As
reported in the Derrick)
April
16,2009
Weed-and-Seed
program town hall meeting set today
The state initiative blends safety
issues with revitalization priorities in communities.
An ambitious community revitalization program
for Oil City gets revved up today with a town hall meeting set for 7
p.m. at the Salvation Army building.
Known as Weed-and-Seed, the program is a
state initiative that blends safety issues with revitalization
priorities in certain neighborhoods.
Oil City is in the loop for a major funding
spurt to accomplish a wide range of goals along those lines, thanks
to its selection in December as one of eight Pennsylvania communities
to receive a $5,000 planning grant.
The money has been used by a group of
volunteers, led by city police Chief Bob Wenner, to outline how
crime, housing deterioration, drug abuse and more can be stopped in
specific city neighborhoods.
Wenner said that planning is nearly complete,
nd the public meeting tonight is aimed at further defining what a
more elaborate program could accomplish in the city. The next step is
the submission of a formal application by May 22 to the state for a
five-year, $40,000 a year Weed-and-Seed grant. Two communities will
be chosen in Pennsylvania. The funding would allow for the hiring of
a full-time site coordinator and a full-time law enforcement
coordinator for five years. The city would have to contribute some
matching funds.
In an earlier outline of the Weed-and-Seed
initiative, Wenner explained the 'weed' means "weeding out crime
by stepping up law enforcement and prosecution efforts" while
'seed' stands for "seeding neighborhoods with prevention,
treatment and revitalization services."
Wenner said the emphasis is on creating a
comprehensive response to crime and neighborhood deterioration. Three
areas within the city are tapped for Weed-and-Seed attention -
Siverly, the East End and a large portion of the North Side
neighborhood.
One item on tonight's agenda will involve a
discussion of information gleaned from nearly 1,500 surveys created
by the Weed-and-Seed planning committee. The questionnaire results,
said Wenner, provided "very good input" on what residents
identified as problems and potential solutions in their
neighborhoods.
Wenner is joined on the Weed-and-Seed
committee by representatives from several local organizations
involved in social services, probation, housing, job services, law
enforcement and others. That linkage, said Wenner, is crucial to
eliminating what he sees as "sometimes broken up services"
that are ineffective in addressing problems.
The Weed-and-Seed program, underway in 15
Pennsylvania communities, was launched by the federal government in
1991 and adopted by Pennsylvania in 1996. It targets small
communities (4,000 to 10,000 people) that have a higher rate of
crime, poverty and unemployment than surrounding towns, have signs of
social deterioration and have homes and businesses that are in need
of renovation. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
is the organization that oversees the program.
Oil City is ahead of the curve in terms of
suitability for the grant program, said Wenner, because it has
established neighborhood organizations on the North Side, South Side
and Siverly that are geared to address a variety of problems.
Please contact us at:
PO. Box 805, Oil City, PA
16301or email us
at:
Email: Southside
Neighborhood Association
Southside Neighborhood
Association
We Watch Out For Each Other