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August 13, 1979
<br />
<br />At a Public
<br />
<br />Hearing of
<br />
<br />the City
<br />
<br />Jack P. Barnes, Ben A. Beamer, Sr., E.
<br />James W. H.olley, Edward L. Oast, Jr.,
<br />Gordon B. Tayloe, Jr., City Attorney.
<br />
<br />Absent: Richard J. Davis
<br />
<br />Council, held on August 13, 1979, there were present:
<br />
<br /> Saunders Early, Jr., J. Robert Gray,
<br /> Robert T. Williams, City Manager,
<br />
<br /> Vice Mayor Holley presided in the absence o~ Mayor Davis.
<br />
<br /> A Joint Public Hearing of the City Council and the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing
<br />Authority was held with the following Commissioners present, and on the following item:
<br />
<br /> Herbert K. Bangel, Chairman, Dr. E. A. Barham, Mrs. Elizabeth Downs, William H.
<br /> Oast, III, Michael A. Kay, Executive Director.
<br />
<br />79-287 Public Hearing on the Proposed Community Development Program 1980.
<br />
<br />Vice Mayor addressed the Hearing with the following opening remarks:
<br />
<br /> 'This hearing has been called this evening for the purpose of presenting the proposed
<br />1980 Community Development Program and for Che purpose of providing interest individuals an
<br />opportunity to comment on activities which are proposed to be undertaken through this effort
<br />which will begin in December, 1979. Following a practice begun in 1975, tonight's hearing
<br />brings together members of the City Council and the Board of Commissioners of the Portsmouth
<br />Redevelopment and Housing Authority. This combined approach permits these representative
<br />bodies to hear together your comments on these Community Development Proposals."
<br />
<br />The following statement was presented by the City Manager.
<br />
<br /> "The City of Portsmouth's 1980 Community Development Entitlement will be at its basic
<br />entitlement level of $2.8 million, an amount which is 40% lower than the "hold harmless" total
<br />of $4.5 million which we enjoyed in the first three years of this program. This particular
<br />reduction in funding and the impact of inflation have made it increasingly difficult to meet
<br />all of the many requests for community development money which are received annually and at th
<br />same time to use these funds in such a manner to make the greatest possible impact on this con
<br />munity.
<br />
<br /> As Mr. Kay will describe for you, the Proposed 1980 Program which was developed with the
<br />indepth involvement of the Citizens Advisory Committee, basically, proposes to continue and
<br />complete those activities which were begun in earlier action years. In addition, it is pro-
<br />posed to slightly expand our ongoing effort in Southside to allocate 1980 program funds to the
<br />Twin Pines Community to enable us to be~in the reconstruction of the utility.system in that
<br />area in early spring. In the meantime, we will make every effort possible to secure additiona
<br />Community Development funding to enable the City and the Authority to carry out the proposal
<br />which we previously outlined in the Twin Pines Innovative Grant Application which unfortunatel
<br />was not approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Again, we must emphasiz
<br />as we have in the past, all comments made this evening will be very seriously considered and
<br />if they are not included under Community Development, will certainly be reviewed for appli-
<br />cability for funding under other programs.
<br />
<br /> On behalf of the City Council, the City, amd the Authority Staff, I would like to express
<br />our appreciation for the continued assistance which the Citizens Advisory Committ~gives to us
<br />in the preparation of the Community Development Program. I would like to call your attention
<br />to the Citizens Community Development Handbook which was completed last year under the auspice
<br />of the Citizens Advisory Committee. This booklet contains very valuable information concernin
<br />the Community Development Program that I would encourage each of you to obtain a copy and re-
<br />view it carefully."
<br />
<br /> Michael A. Kay, Chairman, Portsmouth RedeVelopment and Housing Authority, presented the
<br />following p~a~ent~tion:
<br />
<br /> "As the City Manager mentioned, the proposed 1980 Community Development Program generall
<br />provides for the continuation of the locality's comprehensive effort to target increasingly
<br />scarce CD resources so as to have the most significant long term impact on our city. As most
<br />of you here are aware, the emphasis in our previous action years has been devoted to the im-
<br />provement of the Southside community. In this area, basic redevelopment activities have been
<br />undertaken, together with two new housing developments, Newtown Gardens and the Effingham
<br />Plaza elderly development. In addition, we anticipate that, barring any unforseen difficultie
<br />construction of the 134-unity Southside Gardens development in Southside [ will be underway
<br />in the next 60 days. These particular developments, along with the recently announced build-
<br />ing products manufacturing enterprise in Southside II, represent a very significant step for-
<br />ward in the revitalization program. Moreover, as shown in the exhibit before you, $1.1 millio
<br />will be allocated for the completion of land assemblage, relocation and demolition activities
<br />the initial 12-block area of Southside IV where activities were begun in 1978. At the same
<br />time this funding would allow a slight expansion of this area along Fourth Street as shown to
<br />assemble property for commercial/light industrial use whic~ will dovetail very much with the
<br />increased interest now being received by the City for industrial development in this section.
<br />
<br /> WATERFRONT - funds in the amount of $25,000 are provided for the continuation of activi-
<br />ties in accordance with the Crawford Harbor Plan, including:
<br />
<br />Physical and planning
<br />Legal services
<br />Costs associated with
<br />
<br />surveys
<br />
<br />land marketing
<br />
<br />
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