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Mrs. R~vin:
<br />
<br />Mr. Eason:
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />Carolyn
<br />Jackson:
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />Dr. Holley:
<br />
<br />Mrs.
<br />Jackson:
<br />
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />Mr. Holland:
<br />
<br />Dr. Holley:
<br />
<br />C. Jackson:
<br />Mr. Wentz:
<br />
<br />Mr. Eastes:
<br />
<br />"Multi-family is included in the specifications."
<br />
<br />"Yes it is, but the emphasis, from our understanding, has been t6ward single family
<br />and we want the emphasis to be geared to multi-family."
<br />
<br />"Any other questions for Mr. Eason? Thank you very much, Mr. Eason. -The next re-
<br />quest to speak is Mrs. Carolyn Jackson, Mt. Olive and Mt. Calvary Cemeteries
<br />League. Mrs. Jackson."
<br />
<br />"Mr. Vice Mayor, members of the Portsmouth City Council, members of the Portsmouth
<br />Redevelopment and Housing Authority and members of the Portsmouth Planning Com-
<br />mission, as you plan the distribution of the Federal funds rece'ntly allocated to
<br />the City of Portsmouth, we of the Mt. Olive-Mt. Calvary Cemeteries League implore
<br />your consideration of the restoration of those cemeteries. Mt. Olive is one of
<br />the oldest cemeteries mn the City dating back to the early !800's. These two
<br />cemeteries constitute the final resting place for many outstanding black citizens
<br />of yesteryear. There are professionals buried there, there are business persons
<br />buried there, and prominent educators who have contributed much to the progress of
<br />the City of Portsmouth. Today, it is one of the most blighted areas in the city.
<br />In the midst of the Prentis Park residential section. It is at present a health
<br />hazard, and secondly an eyesore mn the community. As you consider Community Re-
<br />development, certainly the restoration of these cemeteries deserves high priority.
<br />Thank you."
<br />
<br />"DO any Commissioners, any members of the Council have any questions for Mrs. Jack-
<br />son?"
<br />
<br />"I have just one question for Mrs. Jackson. Mrs. Jackson, in your proposal of the
<br />upgrading of the deterioration of these cemeteries, does your group have some es-
<br />timation of what you would think, have you had someone to consider what it would
<br />cost for restoration beginning in these areas, talking in terms of dollars?"
<br />
<br />"Yes. At a recent meeting that we held, it was felt that it would take about
<br />fifty thousand dollars to possibly upgrade it. Now that doesn't say anything about
<br />what goes on afterward, the perpetual care, but to really upgrade it, it would cost
<br />about fifty thousand dollars."
<br />
<br />"Are there any other questions for Mrs. Jackson?"
<br />
<br />"Mr. Chairman, I would like to direct a comment to Dr. Holley. Dr. Holley, I am
<br />one of the trustees of this cemetery, and the fifty thousand dollars that was just
<br />mentioned is the amount of money that we feel that it would take for us to restore
<br />the memetery to a dignified condition, and this, of course, does not include, and
<br />I'm sure that you've read articles about it, a perpetual fund. We have not asked
<br />for perpetual moneys at any time in our approach to any organization in seeking
<br />funds. The major thing tight now is just to restore the dignity until we can get
<br />other programs that are available in order to complete the project to whereby the
<br />project will stand on its own merits, and also we do have a committee that is seek-
<br />-ing funds throughout the city. At present, it's just a small organization, taking
<br />dollars and two dollars and contributions of that nature, but we are trying to es-
<br />tablish a perpetual care fund, and we're trying to do this on our own merit. The
<br />money that we are seeking now is not to be confused with a perpetual fund."
<br />
<br />"I have one other question~I would like to ask; I understand what has just been said
<br />but are you actually, if funds were available, and should be available, you would
<br />also like to have that perpetual care included, if it's at all possible, you are
<br />asking for it?"
<br />
<br />"Certainly."
<br />
<br />"Any other questions for Mrs. Jackson?~? Thank you very much, Mrs. Jackson. The
<br />next request to speak is Mr. George Eastes, representing Community Action, Inc.
<br />Mr. Eastes is a former City Councilman, a former Vice Mayor, it's always nice to
<br />have you back in the Council Chambers."
<br />
<br />"Mr. Chairman, it's real nice to be back. Ladies and gentlemen, at the present tim~
<br />I'm President of Community Action, Inc., which is a non-profit organization, in-
<br />terested only in upgrading the City of Portsmouth, or helping in any way it can..
<br />Our efforts along this particular Community Development funding proposition have
<br />been to recommend, and we appeared before the CAC with this same recommendation,
<br />that the majority of the money be used for the Southside project, which the Com-
<br />munity Development Task Force has dreamed up. Without going into any detail, I
<br /> would like to read just a couple of things that we're saying in this. The South-
<br /> side neighborhood of ~Portsmouth, which incidentally is old Gosport, and which, I
<br /> don't know if it was the first acquisition of the city by merger or by annexation,
<br /> or it was certainly one of the earliest ones, and probably of all the family of
<br /> communities that make up Portsmouth, it's probably the one that's had the least
<br /> done for it by the city; and it is now the area that needs the most rehabilitation.
<br /> at least among the living. Maybe the dead need more rehabilitation. It's the onl]
<br /> major area that needs assistance in which nothing has been done, it's residents ar~
<br /> among the mosu disadvantaged, housing is sub-standard, services such as drainage
<br /> and so on are poor. And yet the area itself bears a considerable promise if we
<br /> do something. We've been talking about doing something since, I think a good whil(
<br /> before I ever came on the Council tc begin with, and yet very little has been done.
<br /> This is a golden opportunity, and Community Action urges that the funds for the
<br /> first year be heavily used in this.particular area. We're not opposed to some of
<br />
<br />
<br />
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