Southside Neighborhood Association

The Derrick                                                                                                                      

(As Written in The Derrick)
November 25, 2009

OC qualifies for Weed-and-Seed project



Police chief Bob Wenner
 a driving force behind the
State-funded program.

 JUDITH o. ETZEL
Staff writer

Oil City has been selected as one of two Pennsylvania cities to launch a full-scale Weed-and-Seed project
med at enhancing safety and revitalizing neighborhoods in three city areas.

"We got what we asked for," said Bob Wenner, Oil City police chief and instigator of
the state-funded program. "So many people say “you can't do that' and 'it won't work'
but we were successful and now we roll through this."

Weed-and-Seed is a project that focuses on the creation of an action plan to "weed out" crime and blight
and "seed in" safety and revitalization programs in specific neighborhoods. In Oil City's case, those targeted
 neighborhoods are Siverly, the East Side neighborhood.

There was an inkling Oil City would win final approval when it was tapped a year ago for a $5,000 state grant to layout its case for a full-blown Weed and- Seed designation. That plan was submitted and the city learned recently it was successful in its bid.

At the heart of the program is money, a commodity that was tied up in Pennsylvania's
long budget impasse. Because of the late budget passage, the city begins its Weed-and-Seed program in December rather than last July.

"Because of that, our funding will run from December to June and then will be on an annual basis," said Wenner. The city will receive $58,000 to fund the program through
mid-summer. It will be divvied up with $25,000 going to a program administrator, $25,000 to a community resource police officer and $8,000 for materials and related costs.

Come July, funding will double to pay for a full year of the Weed-and-Seed project In
Oil City. The program extends for five years with a diminishing
state allocation. said Wenner.  The difference can be made up through various private, civic and public sources, he said.

While Wenner clearly acknowledges the "money is great," it is the program that
energizes him.

Beefing up the police presence in those targeted city neighborhoods will help promote the goal of creating a comprehensive and unrelenting response to crime. A variety
of partners, including the district attorney's office, have signed on to cooperate.

As to the second position of full time program coordinator, that post may be tilled as soon
as January to oversee the Weed and-Seed task force's outline of work and goals ,said Wenner.

The individual will gather complaints, coordinate meetings of Law enforcement agencies, plan interventions to deal with a variety of problems, coordinate efforts aimed at revitalizing neighborhoods and more.

The Weed-and-Seed program has been designed by a mix of local individuals, he said,
who represent neighborhood associations. health and social service agencies, the school district and other organizations. The linkage of many groups.

 Said the police chief allows the program to focus on a variety of ills. Neighborhood deterioration, blight. drug and alcohol abuse, health issues, poverty, unemployment, crime and more will be addressed. The initiative digs deeper because it calls into play numerous services to deal with causes and not just symptoms, said Wenner.

"The goal is to rejuvenate neighborhoods," Wenner told a public gathering last spring.
While the areas that fall under the Weed-and-Seed project are specifically outlined,
those boundaries can change over time, said the chief. "With weed and seed, it is
an evolving program and you can move your target areas," said the chief. "When criminal elements move out into another area because you've stepped up enforcement, you can adjust and move to the new place.  And, having one officer specifically
dealing with one problem area frees up our officers for other neighborhoods."
The Weed-and-Seed task force will sponsor a public program on the project next month.

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