1. Introductions and Ice Breaker
2. Review Goals and Activities from December RCC Meeting
3. Sticker Vote and Discussion
4. Calendar and Sign-Up’s

Attendance:

Alma Couverthie (CND staff), Carol Tye, Cate Blackford, Christine Pierannunzi, Darcie Edness, Elena Robles, Ina Tall, Ira Novoselsky, Kathleen Heiser, Kitty Bowman, Rachel Meketon (CND staff), Sylvia Chiang, and Techrosette Leng (CND board member).

Goal: Bring diverse people together and improve communication between neighbors.

              7 stickers for ‘Plan year-round events and programs that encourage interaction.’

Alma: We will be doing this as we complete our other goals.

Goal: Improve safety by addressing violence and crime.

                1 sticker for ‘Install lighting and cameras.’

               2 stickers for ‘Collaborate with RPD to improve relationships with community members, increase police presence, and establish neighborhood watch groups.’

Darcie: With cameras we prevented drug abuse and prostitution from happening near our apartment building. We could place dummy cameras and signs in dangerous areas. Local businesses have signs about cameras, and it seems to work, whether it’s true or not.

Ira: A young man is trying to start a crime watch after another youth attempted to steal a woman’s purse.

Ina: We should address issues of prostitution on Revere Beach.

              Darcie: It may be drug activity, not prostitution.

              Ina: Address illicit activity at the beach.

Kitty: Revere Cares focuses on drug and alcohol prevention and works with the police.

Alma: We can offer support to the efforts of Revere Cares.

Kitty: The two organizations can co-lead a meeting and reach out together to the Shirley Avenue neighborhood, so that we’re not doubling the work.

Goal: Clean and beautify public spaces.

                1.5 stickers for ‘Address littering and dumping.’

                7.5 stickers for ‘Plan regular clean-up’s.’

                1.5 stickers for ‘Plant trees, bushes, flowers.’

                5.5 stickers for ‘Create a community garden.’

Chris: Plan mini-events with clean-up’s that we can organize quickly. Elena and I would like to get a group together to do different small sections in the neighborhood that need attention.

Elena: Add an educational component. Can we go to the schools?

Kathleen: The Beachmont Improvement Committee plans two major clean-up’s per year. The Beachmont Committee places flyers in everyone’s door. The volunteers bring rakes. The trash bags and gloves are provided. We only get a small turn-out. We always wear the same color shirt and post signs so that people know who we are. At the end of the clean-up, the DPW comes to pick up the trash bags from us. We need to make sure that there’s a way to dispose of the trash and weeds. This is also an opportunity to get small businesses involved. An insurance company has donated brooms, rakes, and trash cans.

Ira: We did a similar clean-up in October.

Alma: We could do something on Earth Day. We can begin the education process now, go to different organizations around the city, and use the big day to recruit people. And afterwards we can do follow-up and maintenance.

Ira: We can do it as part of a tree-planting on Nahant and Walden. CND and the City are planning to put in twenty-four trees this Spring.

Kitty: The adopt-a-park program could participate in Earth Day.

Cate: Did Mayor Rizzo plan a clean-up day in Revere this past year?

                Chris: The Revere Beautification Committee planned it with the city councilors leading efforts in their districts.

Kathleen: If we’re going to get the schools involved, then we have to put a packet together and submit it to Dr. Dakin. We have to give him the full plan well ahead of time. And, RHS students might be interested in this as a part of their community service work. Though the students that helped us in Beachmont were so excited that they stopped caring about the hours.

Ira: We could also involve the Future Teachers Club and Nancy Barile.

Kitty: And we can involve local corporations. The MGH and the credit union can take sections of Shirley Avenue. Other small businesses could come out with their employees.

Alma: The Timberland factory in Connecticut brings employees out to volunteer and turn spaces around.

                Cate: Maybe they could help to turn the Walnut/Kimball space into a community garden.

Alma: We can also get in touch with the Smart Growth Initiative. I know the director.

Ira: It seems like everyone’s #1 goal is to dress up the neighborhood.

Kathleen: We should include the new mayor and get his support. We can pursue this city-wide.

Goal: Create more activities and find a space for youth.

                6 stickers for ‘Create a youth center.’

                1 sticker for ‘Begin programs like dance teams, athletics, and allow youth to lead youth.’

Alma: I think that we should bring youth together to figure out what sort of place they would want.

Kathleen: And we should get kids involved in things that we already have. The schools have all kinds of programs. The high school has a dance group. And the elementary schools are open until 6 PM anyway, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for the school to give them some space.

Kitty: We’re getting everyone involved through the Revere after-school partnership. This year we started working with the middle school and high school. We’re trying to capture the success and build from it.

Kathleen: I think that what the youth need and don’t necessarily have is a place to hang out and study, a location that’s safe and allows them to gather.

                 Kitty: Yes, they have activities, but they need a place to drop in and hang.

Kathleen: At my school, they use the Wii in their after-school program. It keeps kids moving and exercising. And they’re not on the street or latch-key children. We can pool money to get something like that.

Alma: We can also invite other youth groups in the area that have been successful, to get an idea of what can be done. We can take the youth to visit youth centers in other communities.

                 Tech: Have you heard of ‘Know What’s Up’? It’s youth-led high school age organizing in East Boston. They do a lot of events with musical    performances. I have a contact there.

                 Alma: So we have Roca and East Boston. That’s two places that we can take youth.

Kitty: We don’t have any plans for seniors. How do we engage them?

On December 21^st forty Revere residents gathered at the MGH clinic to celebrate the accomplishments of The Neighborhood Developers and the Revere community in 2011 and to begin planning activities for 2012.

The meeting began with each person introducing themselves and passing around the ‘gift’ of what they value most about their neighborhood. Techrosette Leng, a TND board member, gave the gift of accessibility in the broadest sense. She described the neighborhood as affordable, public transit friendly, and welcoming of its diverse population. Many people agreed that the community’s diversity is very valuable to them. Carlos Robles, a Revere High School student, said that he most appreciates his relationships with the younger children in the neighborhood.

Following the introductions, TND’s Revere Community Engagement Associate Rachel Meketon described the accomplishments from 2011: free tax preparation for 181 Revere residents, the construction of two affordable apartment buildings, the community-led design and construction of Costa Park, and a well-attended NeighborCircle training.

Several youth were awarded certificates for community leadership to honor the many hours that they volunteered to help plan and prepare for the Costa Park playground build. And one adult neighbor, Sitchan Cheth, received the same leadership award for his stewardship of the Park, where he collects litter on a regular basis, thus helping to maintain a clean and safe place for local children to play.

The large group separated into smaller groups to discuss and brainstorm goals and activities for 2012. As a result, the Committee’s four major goals are to:

-          Bring diverse people together and improve communication between neighbors

-          Create more activities and find a space for youth

-          Clean and beautify public spaces

-          Improve safety by addressing violence and crime

For the full summary of goals and activities in 2012, download this The RCC’s Goals and Activities for 2012.

Below I’ve included some good news, an urgent request, and a re-cap of Design Day.

Good News: Our funder, JetBlue, has changed the Build Day date to Saturday, October 29^th (instead of Wednesday)! Mark your calendars.

URGENT Request! The Build Day on 10/29 will be a huge community event with food, music, activities for children, and 200 volunteers BUILDING the park! We urgently need people to join planning committees for that Day (see list below)! Please put your contacts in touch with me: Rachel Meketon at 617-889-1375 ext. 11.

Recruitment & Registration – bringing in volunteers, assigning Build Captains

Food – soliciting food donations / contributions from community members, logistics for serving

Youth Involvement – plan activities for children on Build Day

Entertainment & Media – music and contacting the press

Fundraising – soliciting donations for the community’s contribution ($8,500) and other miscellaneous items

Green – landscaping, recycling

Construction – ensure that we have the tools we need

Logistics – parking, toilets, trash, tents, tables, etc.

Safety & Maintenance – evacuation plan, maintenance plan

Re-cap of Design Day:

At 3 PM, our KaBOOM! Project Manager Kathryn Lusk met with community members and staff from RND, the City of Revere and JetBlue at Costa Park. Kathryn took some measurements and reviewed the Build Day space requirements.

At 4 PM, we assembled in the CAPIC gym with dozens of children and parents from the neighborhood. The children sketched their dream parks and then presented them to the audience, elaborating on their favorite pieces of equipment.

At 5 PM, Kathryn reviewed the planning process for Build Day and the committee responsibilities. Community members, high school students, and staff from the City, CAPIC, RND, and JetBlue signed up for the committees. We ate some pizza and then reconvened to look through pictures of playground equipment. We created a collective list of must-haves, pieces that we feel ambivalent about, and those that we definitely don’t want.

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Costa Park
3. Real Estate Report
   1. 525 Beach St. Outreach and Community Meeting (8/31)
   2. New Properties
   3. RCC Outreach and Neighbor Circles
   4. Old Business (Groundbreaking)
   5. Next Meeting (9/21)
      1. Review Shirley Ave. Gateway Cities Plan
      2. Report Back on Costa Park

Attendance

Danielle Farinato, Ann Houston (CND staff), Ira Novoselsky, Cate Blackford, Samnang Kheoun, Kathleen Heiser, Rachel Meketon (CND staff), Kitty Bowman, Orlando Jaquez (CND Board), Mohamed Bensadok, Laurie Holmes

Costa Park Discussion

• The group listed its goals for the renovation of Costa Park:
  • Safety
  • Increased use
  • Community-building
  • Annexplained that Costa Park measures about 7,000 sq. ft. but KaBOOM could only offer playground equipment to fill 2,500 sq. ft.
    • Cate explained the difficulty and expense of changing equipment once a rubberized surface has been installed. The City expects that equipment will need to be updated soon since a similar park (Louis Pasteur) recently required $10,000 worth of updates (due to rotting wood).
      • Kathleen and Ira suggested that Louis Pasteur is closer to the ocean and may have been damaged by flooding.
• Ann and Cate explained that the line of playground equipment that the city of Revere uses is more expensive and higher quality than what Kaboom typically uses. It is also easier to remove graffiti and less likely to be vandalized than the Kaboom equipment. The city’s preferred equipment would require fewer volunteers for the installation process (the ‘build day’), which concerns Kaboom.
• Ann and Cate described the possibility of doing a Phase I renovation of Costa Park in the Fall and a Phase II in the Spring. Phase I would be in partnership with Kaboom and Phase II would be subsidized by CND and city funds, park grants, community fundraising, and other funding sources. Additionally, the rubberized surface could be done in two parts (in accordance with the two phases).
  • Kathleen, Ira and others were concerned that this would result in taking away opportunities for play (before and in between the phases) and possibly upset community members who frequent the park.
  • Mohamed suggested that we put the Kaboom park at the Garfield School, where there’s a small grassy plot of land and a large number of children.
    • Ann responded that the Garfield School is definitely a site for future consideration, but the current Kaboom process only works for our application for Costa Park.
    • Cate added that it would require getting permissions from the schools.
• Danielle suggested that we postpone the Kaboom build until the Spring when we can be assured of funding sources for the other portion of the park.
  • Ann responded that this Kaboom build can only take place in October.
• Orlando and Kitty suggested that the park is probably not used as much during the Winter anyway, so it might be fine to reduce the park size temporarily.
• Rachel showed photos of four Kaboom parks in the Boston area. 8.17.2011 PowerPoint Presentation
• Kitty presented concerns about funding for Phase II. A new mayor may have new priorities for where funds go.
• Final suggestions
  • Ann repeated Phase I / Phase II option, or we could look at Garfield again, convene a taskforce, and determine the best green spaces for the community.
  • Orlando reminded the group that they had previously decided that Costa should be the focus for revitalization.
  • The group debated other merits and losses of moving forward with Kaboom:
    • Discouraged by empty half of park
    • Risk of not getting money to fund second half
    • Community fundraising
    • Changing things (maybe for the worse?) for a small amount of money
    • Conclusion: Move forward with Kaboom with the condition that we can design a Kaboom (Phase I) and a Phase II of the park.

New Properties

• 56-60 Highland
  • Vacant for many years.
  • 33 Centennial
    • Purchased at foreclosure auction.

525 Beach St. Outreach and Community Meeting (8/31)

• Rachel reported on outreach. Community concerns include management, sunlight, and parking.
• The community meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 31^st at 7 PM in the Carl Hyman Towers (50 Walnut Ave.).

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. 525 Beach St. Housing
   1. Comments or questions from May presentation
   2. Hosting a community meeting
   3. Parks
      1. Revere Adopt-a-Park (Cate Blackford)
      2. KaBOOM Park

                                             i.      Update on possible Costa Park Build

                                             ii.      Overview of KaBOOM process

                                             iii.      Next Steps

     3.   Broadening RNDs Network

     4.   Planning 14-16 Nahant/Walden Fire Station Ribbon Cutting

Attendance

Danielle Farinato, Josh Strazanac (CND staff), Ann Houston (CND staff), Richie Leng, Techrosette Leng (CND board), Carol Tye, Ira Novoselsky, Nancy Barile, Cate Blackford, Kathleen Heiser, Rachel Meketon (CND staff), Kitty Bowman, Orlando Jaquez (CND Board)

525 Beach St. Housing

• Ann reported that the project is moving forward as technical issues are being taken care of. Suspected lead contamination was found to not exist. She also anticipates the project will have to go through a second round of funding consideration.
• Meeting of community around project
  • Outreach to the immediate project neighbors needs to happen to honor their stake in development
  • After immediate neighbors are contacted, a community meeting where the neighborhood is invited will solicit opinions and concerns from residents
  • Ira commented that there might be some concern for underground parking and a need for a permit due to “underground storage” of gas
  • Ann reported that there is a special push for the project at 90 Ocean due to interest in developing that site soon. An effort will be made to move the development of that project plan along

Revere Adopt-a-Park

• Cate explained Revere’s Adopt-a-Park program to the committee: a program that increases youth ownership and investment in parks and playgrounds by funding their pursuit of beautification and maintenance projects with those spaces. Currently funded by Mass Moves though additional funding through Food and Fitness will look to expand the program. With this expansion, the city will be soliciting community input on which projects the program should take up and how to prioritize those proposed sites.
• Kitty wanted to assure all that, though the current funding source is limited to 6 months, the city has other funding lined up to maintain the Adopt-a-Park program
• Ann added that, after successful completion of a potential KaBOOM project, the Shirley Ave Gateway Plan would work to identify green spaces, which would be a natural connection with Cate’s group and the Adopt-a-Park program

KaBOOM Park Build

• Update on KaBOOM phone call
  • Tech and Ira explained that they didn’t know what to expect from the phone call, but it seemed to have gone quite well
  • Explanation of KaBOOM Process
    • Ann explained that KaBOOM is a nonprofit that pairs a corporate funder with a community partner to build a playground and develop the park around it. Generally, it is not just an opportunity to improve physical space, but to build community
    • Ira shared the KaBOOM process: a planning committee is formed that will break up into subcommittees to facilitate every part of the build process. There is a “design day” in which kids and parents are brought together to sit down and discuss what they want their park to be (they will literally give their opinions on what equipment). After planning and design, there is a small prep day, and then the build day in which the entire park goes up in one day with, what is hoped will be, a group of 200 volunteers (100 from the corporate partner, 100 from the community)
    • Next Steps
      • Ann shared the next two steps of the project being: 1) Getting the City and CND to sign the contract (a matter of agreeing to division of responsibilities in contract between City and CND); and 2) Form the Planning Committee by establishing a core group of 7 to 8 members, who will eventually draw in other members to bring the group between 15 and 20.
      • Timeline
        • Planning Committee will meet shortly to conference with KaBOOM and begin planning
        • KaBOOM proposed October 10 for the build day
        • Six weeks before Oct. 10, the design day happens

Broadening RNDs Network

• Ann and Josh will design a handout to facilitate conversing with residents and other stakeholders
• Orlando suggested that the committee would stand to benefit from reaching out to business members, and ideally, having a businessperson join the committee

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for 14/16 Nahant and Walden Fire Station

• Ann proposed July 7 or 8 or sometime during the week of July 18 during the late afternoon. As a backup, July 21 and 22 will work

Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, May 24, 2011

• Welcome and Introductions:  Chair Danielle Farinato
• In attendance: Ann Houston, Emily Loomis, Cat Dodson Goodrich, Orlando Jaquez, Danielle Farinato, Techrosette Leng, Richie Leng, Ira Novoselsky, Antonieta Gimeno, Laurie Holmes, Kitty Bowman

• Defining the Revere Community Committee: The question was raised, who is this group and what decision making power does it have?  The group has decision making power through its elected representatives to the CND board, Orlando Jaquez and Techrosette Leng.  Its job is to inform those board members of the needs and priorities of the Revere community, and trust their representatives to act in the best interest of the neighborhood.  The Committee guides CRND’s work in Revere, providing an avenue for resident input. 
• Levels of participation – the committee should be open to those who would like to participate, but we need a commitment from members that they will attend regularly so that the conversation can be coherent and progress can be made.  Members agreed, and committed to attend as many meetings as possible. 
• Meetings:  location, time, other issues?  Members agreed that we should be meeting more frequently, given the importance and volume of issues to be discussed.  The third Wednesday of each month at 6:15 is a good time.
• Who else should be invited?  Ideas included: Representatives from the business community; Contacts from the Moroccan community (Orlando and Laurie); Religious leaders; PTO members (Carol); Revere PD
• Ann will draft a one pager describing the committee, and the scope and reason for its work, and will send it to the committee so they can use it as a recruitment tool.  Outreach should be done both face-to-face and through email, and multiple languages should be used: Khmer, Spanish, and Arabic as well as English.
• How big should the committee be?  The consensus was that as RND’s work grows in Revere, so should the committee grow and represent the diversity of the community.  Work around issues that emerge will be done in smaller subcommittees and/or task forces.

• 525 Beach Street Housing:  Emily Loomis, CND Director of Real Estate, presented our real estate development strategy and described the proposed Beach Street development.  We seek to build vibrant neighborhoods accessible to people with a mix of incomes.  To that end, we build housing that is affordable in perpetuity, and make a long-term commitment to working in a community, building connections between neighbors and offering opportunities for people to build household assets.  In Revere, we’ve begun with 14-16 Nahant, a property we bought out of foreclosure and rehabbed to a high neighborhood standard.  Where it was possible, we maintained tenancies of that property.  We are building 7 units of elderly housing in the fire station, and are proposing a larger, multi-family property at 525 Beach Street, informed by the Gateway Cities plan and conversations had with this committee, city officials, and other residents. 
• Presentation and discussion: (Questions are in italics) 525 Beach Street is an empty warehouse that once housed an auto-body workshop.  We are proposing to build a three and four story building that has 30 apartments. 
• Where are we in the process?  What’s the big picture and the likelihood that this will happen? The site is under agreement for CND and we are currently doing some testing on site to determine how much environmental remediation will be called for.   The results will inform our decision to buy the property or not.  More on this later.
• The preliminary designs show our architect’s commitment to design that encourages community connections, and the three prominent street-facing areas of the façade mimic the triple-deckers that characterize the rest of the housing in the neighborhood – it will fit in.  The proposed property is actually smaller than the existing building, though both are larger than the surrounding properties.  The fourth story is set back from the street, so that it is not fully visible.  This helps the property fit in.  There are balconies that encourage connection between neighbors and eyes on the street.
• There are 5 one-bedroom apartments, 20 two-bedrooms, and 5 three-bedrooms.  In our other developments, we find that this mix of apartments leads to multi-generational tenancies – one and two bedrooms are often rented by retirees or young singles, and the two and three bedrooms are often occupied by families of all types.  All are designed to universal visitability standards, meaning that they are wheelchair accessible, though several are specially designated for people with physical disabilities.  There is currently space for a green courtyard that the building is arranged around in an L shape, as well as a community room for events and classes, or even an after school program.  They will be accessible to residents earning at or below 60% of the Area Median Income, which is about $40,000 for a family of 3. 
• We will need to apply for a zoning variance for parking, as there are 36 spaces for 30 apartments.  In our Chelsea developments, we’ve found this to be more than enough: only about .7 spaces are used per apartment.  Revere is even more T accessible.  The committee believed that neighborhoods need to be able to accommodate higher density, so they were comfortable with the proposed parking.  One person observed, “This will be a signature piece for the neighborhood.”
• Will RND pay property taxes on this development?  YES.  Even though CND is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the properties are owned by an LLC, which pay real estate taxes.
• When will it be built?  Time for a reality check: there is ever decreasing funding for affordable housing development.  We will need to go through at least three funding rounds (held twice a year) to get money from the state for this.  So, it will take a year and a half to get funding, plus a year of construction: we are at least 2.5 years away from seeing this development leased up.  We will be meeting with our representatives to advocate for funding.  Ira pointed out that Revere is not meeting its 40B required percentage of affordable housing, since it’s at about 9.6% of the housing stock.  CND’s existing 13 units in Revere are affordable and should be included in that count.
• Committee members were charged with taking the plans, thinking them over, and coming back to discuss any questions or concerns at the next meeting.  It was emphasized that there should be conversations with local officials and then with area residents (especially Beach Street neighbors) to get feedback on the designs, probably in late August.

• Parks: This conversation was postponed until the next meeting.
• Revere Adopt-a-Park
• KaBoom Park discussion

• Walden Fire Station Ground Breaking + 14-16 Nahant Ribbon Cutting:  What do we want to achieve? 
• This is a chance to introduce RND to the city!  We could invite prospective members of the community committee to come learn about our work, as well as Beach Street neighbors and Gateway plan participants.  We can demonstrate that we are here to help keep this neighborhood great – to preserve affordability and connect neighbors to this important work.  This is an opportunity to reach out to local officials, build community relationships, and build relationships to bring more resources to this work!

Meeting Agenda

Wednesday, May 24, 2011

1. Welcome and Introductions:  Chair Danielle Farinato
2. Defining the Revere Community Committee
   1. Levels of participation
   2. Meetings:  location, time, other issues?
   3. Who else should be invited?
3. 525 Beach Street Housing  (presentation by Emily Loomis, CND Director of Real Estate, followed by discussion)
4. Parks
   1. Revere Adopt-a-Park: Costa Park and the Food and Fitness Task Force
   2. KaBoom Park discussion
5. Walden Fire Station Ground Breaking + 14-16 Nahant Ribbon Cutting:  What do we want to achieve?

Click here for an initial rendering of the proposed development at 525 Beach Street

Click here to learn more about KaBOOM!

The Revere Community Committee:

• Provides direction and guidance to Revere board members
• Informs RND Real Estate, Resident Asset Development, and Community Engagement work in Revere
• Gives input to CRND governance model development
• Commissions task forces to address pressing neighborhood priorities as needed

1)      Welcome and Introductions

2)      Review of last meeting outcomes:

1. New CND Board representatives from Revere: Orlando Jaquez and Techrosette Leng
2. Meeting schedule confirmed (every 2 months, fourth Wednesday of the month)
3. RND Blog – http://revereneighbors.wordpress.com

3)      Danielle Farinato was unanimously confirmed as the new chair of the committee

4)      Report RND work in Revere:

1. a. Real Estate
   1. i. 14-16 Nahant is completed except for the front steps and landscaping.  There is collateral funding of about $20,000 included in the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative $ CND has received that could be used to invest in other neighborhood improvements.  This could go toward façade improvements on adjacent properties, or to install cameras, lights, and renovations on the park on Shirley Ave.
   2. ii. The fire station is about to go into construction, with abatement of lead and other hazardous materials starting in May.  Received word that Community Development Block Grant funds could go towards helping finish this property.
   3. iii. 525 Beach Street, currently an empty warehouse, is another property we are looking at.
      1. 1. CND should connect with Laurie Holmes about the Sun/Boston Community Capital work to do foreclosure interventions – we were going to share our foreclosure tracking with them.
      2. 2. The property across the street was damaged by a fire.  Is it possible for the project to expand?  Is it a good location for elderly housing?
      3. iv. Neighborhood stabilization strategy – Our research shows that if you are able to improve and stabilize 20% of the properties on a street, then it has a collateral impact on the rest of the properties, so that they also begin to stabilize and make improvements.  Therefore, we focus our investment on key nodes and streets, so that we can leverage our work for greatest neighborhood impact.  That said, our work is limited by very challenging funding constraints and complexities, as well as very lengthy timelines – work happening now on the properties we do own began several years ago.  It usually takes about 18 months to get developments through the funding application process.
         1. 1. What streets are most highly trafficked in the neighborhood?
            1. a. Beach Street, North Shore Road, Shirley Ave, Centennial Road to Campbell Ave.  A real problem area is Thorton Street – a lot of crime, disrepair, foreclosures.
            2. b. Housing Authority tenants live with a lot of disrepair – those properties are falling apart.
         2. The city of Revere keeps telling us that we need to focus on elderly housing.  Most of the people taking advantage of our VITA site are elderly.  The latest census data says that 40% of Revere’s population is over 55.  Is this the committee’s experience?
            1. People thought that there is also a crying need for housing for families with young children and teens.  They are very transient right now because it’s hard to find affordable apartments.
            2. There are teens living in the shelter at the Town Line Motel.  This is a situation we should be working to address.
            3. The Housing Authority already provides resources and works with elderly population to find affordable apartments.
            4. How does the increasing Latino population impact the age shift?
            5. So – it was suggested that in the Fall, we consider studying demographics and housing needs through neighborhood surveys.  We should also consider what the impact of building elderly or family housing might be – would we be meeting an existing need, or encouraging new groups to move to Revere?
         3. What’s changing in Revere?
            1. People in their 20-30’s are leaving.
            2. Muslim population is increasing.
            3. There’s a wave of revitalization – people want to stay!
            4. Criminal activity threatens to increase this spring and summer because of the economic downturn, and younger kids growing up.
      4. v.      Other Prospects
         1. 60 and 90 Revere Beach Boulevard – people are not in favor of what’s currently proposed for that site (13 stories would shade the whole beach!).  Senior housing would be more politically expedient.
         2. Corner of Shirley and Walden – currently a meat packing factory.  We’re considering a commercial property on the first floor and family housing above.  What kind of businesses would be good?  Restaurant!!
      5. vi.      KaBOOM! Park – CND has been invited to apply to build a new or renovate an existing park in Revere with the organization KaBOOM!  They partner a corporate sponsor with nonprofit and community groups to build parks in one single workday.  They provide support and leadership to engage the community in the design process and build day.  It’s a great opportunity, and we are submitting two applications:
         1. A new build of a 3000 ft2 park at the end of a street.  It was observed that the location proposed by the city might be too out of the way, and a magnet for criminal activity and late-night loitering.  A surrounding neighborhood helps build stewardship of the park!
         2. Renovating Costa Park on Shirley Ave.  Bright lights and cameras would really help keep trouble at bay during warmer months, and a basketball hoop would be an improvement too.  NSP money could be invested here.
         3. We are seeking signatures and letters of support, as well as community partners to help!  Meeting participants signed a letter, and Richie Leng offered to write his own.  Kitty Bowman suggested that Revere CARES could write one, and that the Food Fitness Task Force (Kate Blackford is the contact there) would be a natural partner, as they are developing an adopt a park program.
2. Resident Asset Development continues to promote VITA and has filled hundreds of returns in Revere.  There’s a huge increase of participation this year, thanks to the good work committee members have done to get the word out.  Thank you!
3. Community Engagement is working to hire a full-time Revere community organizer.  Spread the word!

6) Next Meeting will be Wednesday, May 25 at Revere CARES at 6:15!

Minutes

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Revere CARES

Present: Ann Houston, Cat Dodson Goodrich, Carol Tye, Ira Novoselsky, Tom Ke, Richie Leng, Nancy Barile, Kitty Bowman, Danielle Farinato, Orlando Jaquez, Samnang Khoeun.

Welcome and Introductions – not present but sending regrets include Laurie Holmes, Techrosette Leng, Kathleen Heiser, Antonieta Gimeno.

Review of last meeting outcomes:

a.       Community Committee purpose and purview – Committees are where the bulk of the work of the CND Board is done, as meetings operate with a consent agenda for committee recommendations.

1. Provide direction and guidance to Revere board members
2. Inform and provide feedback for RND Real Estate, Resident Asset Development, and Community Engagement work in Revere
3. Provide input for Governance model development
4. Commission task forces to address pressing neighborhood priorities as needed

b.      Meeting schedule – it was decided that the committee would meet the fourth Wednesday of every other month.  The next meeting will be March 23 at 6 PM.

c.       RND Blog address is http://revereneighbors.wordpress.com/ — minutes will be emailed to members and also posted on the blog, along with issues or topics for further discussion.

Two CND Board Members from Revere were nominated, Orlando Jaquez and Techrosette Leng, and both were unanimously voted into service!  They committed to attend 10 meetings a year, participate in at least one committee (the Revere Community Committee) and to attend and support events when possible.

• Orlando is a condo owner on Florence Ave who has lived in Revere for just over three years.  He works in production management at a biotech company in Cambridge, and is very interested in community development and neighborhood revitalization in Revere.  Already, he and his fianceé, Danielle, have shown great investment in CND’s work in the community, attending a kitchen table conversation and CND’s annual meeting.

• Tech grew up and lives on Shirley Ave and works at East Boston High School, as well as manages adult education programs for Jewish Vocational Services in Boston.  She is interested in urban studies and development, and ways to engage youth in community improvement activities.

Report RND work in Revere

Real Estate

• 14-16 Nahant is completed and original occupants have returned
• We await a funding announcement from the governor so that we can begin construction on the 7 units of elderly housing we plan to build in the old fire station.  When the funding is announced, we will plan a joint groundbreaking and ribbon cutting for the two properties.
• The real estate team is following a couple of possible investments of bundled foreclosed properties from a single owner in the Shirley Ave neighborhood.
• One piece of work for the committee over the next year will be establishing a plan to target investment along key nodes so that CND can maximize impact in the neighborhood.

Resident Asset Development

• CND’s VITA program has already served 30 people over just two Saturdays in Revere at the public library
• Carol Tye shared information about the Sun Initiative with the Boston Commonwealth Capital, which offers foreclosure intervention and assistance.  As CND is tracking foreclosures in Shirley Ave, we might be able to help them identify who is in need of assistance.

Community Engagement

• We plan to hire a part-time organizer to begin building more neighbor-to-neighbor connections in Revere.  Ideas for places to advertise include:  Revere Journal, Channel 8/Revere TV, Cambodian Journal, the public library (Lorna Frongillo), Job boards at supermarkets, Suffolk University and Salem State.

• Task Forces may be formed to begin to tackle the community concerns that came out of the kitchen table conversations: trash, parking, a community center, safe parks/green space.  Recycle bank has greatly increased Revere’s recycling rate, but there wasn’t adequate community education with its roll-out.  This could be a good place to start.  Nancy Barile volunteered to get teens from the high school (the recycle club or public service club?) to film a recycling PSA in many languages.

• Opportunities to collaborate with existing groups – Beachmont Beautification Committee and Revere Beautification group.