Inter-Neighborhood Council

Making Better Neighborhoods

Http://www.rtpnet.org/durhminc

Minutes of Meeting of April 22, 2003

REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT

Administration and Announcements

President Melvin Whitley opened the meeting and members introduced themselves.

§ Unified Development Ordinance Committee has a written report. The committee is looking at trying to use list-serves to start discussion around questions such as how to get earlier, more and better community involvement in development issues.

§ The list-serve is up and running.

§ The first planing meeting on the INC Awards Ceremony will be May 14.

Durham City Outlook – Cora Cole-McFadden

Council-person Cole-McFadden talked about what council is doing to not only do things right, but also do the right things. Being on council is a “big case-load” for its members. Doing the right things includes updating the minimal housing code, getting more housing inspectors on board and making sure benefits are fair among city workers. Doing things right includes having proper fiscal oversight of contracts (both in who gets them and in having costs come out to be what was predicted) and generally making sure that our leaders are doing things we look up to. She also mentioned having more formal ways of funding non-city agencies and the possibility of having a bond referendum in the fall. Some comments back to her were:

§ Thanks for hiring Frank Duke

§ What happened to the bond money for parks? People have heard it was spent on consultants and maintenance instead of improvements.

§ Support for Neighborhood College

Durham Literacy Center / Council (DLC) – Dale Stouch

DLC serves over 600 adults each year, but still has 65-70 people on waiting list. The need is driven by the welfare-to-work program and the influx of immigrants. They have 4 programs (English for Speakers of Other Languages, Youth GED, Adult Basic Education, and Family Literacy). They desperately need time, treasure, and talent because of United Way cuts, partners no longer being able to contribute, and the general economic situation. Neighborhoods could put information on DLC in their newsletters. For more information, see their website at: http://www.durhamlit.org/

INC passed a resolution to write a letter in support of DLC.

“Billboard” Bills – Melvin Whitley, Pat Carstensen, Tom Miller

The Billboard lobby has gotten companion bills introduced (SB 534 and HB 429 - Just Compensation / Local Government Taking) and passed in the House that will seriously limit the ability of local governments to improve their communities. Currently municipalities can set a grace period (phase-out, amortization) during which owner recoups investment in non-conforming structures (built before the laws making them illegal were passed) and then must remove the structure. Under the bill, we would have to pay cash money to have the nonconforming structure removed. The bills are extreme and, if passed, could affect minimum housing/unsafe building ordinances, limit control of junkyards and other eyesores, and hurt environmental efforts. These bills have made it clear why we need to be in contact with neighborhoods across the state, so that effort is started.

Tom Miller moved a resolution that the INC is in opposition to the so-called Billboard Bills, should communicate this opposition to Durham’s legislators, urge neighborhoods to write letters, and do whatever else is needed. The motion carried

Durham County Update and NAACP – Joe Bowser

For Durham County, the central problem is money -- both the need for a miracle on the budget for next year and the huge capital requirements (bond issue) for court house, new schools, libraries, and social services / mental health / public health offices.

As new president of NAACP, Mr. Bowser is trying too build bridges with every like-minded organization, where “like-minded” means committed to economic and social justice and to making this a better community. They are working on increasing voting in Durham, getting back to the roots in the church, and making NAACP and leadership more diverse. Their website is www.naacp.org.

Announcements

Lynwood Best said there were a number of upcoming events / trainings from Housing and Community Development. Ed Sarvis and B. J. Council were attending as part of building more links between community groups and the police department. Others said they would send the announcements of events to the list-serve.

The meeting was adjourned.