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MINUTES OF THE CITIZ ENS ADVISORY COMMI TTEE FOR URBAN RENEWAL BOARD OF DI RECTORS ROOH TRUST COMPANY OF GEORGI A THURSDAY, JULY 17, 1969 The Ex ecutive Committee Mee tin g of the CACUR was called to order promptly at 2: 45 P. Mo b y the Cha irman , Dr. No a h N. La ngd a le, Jr. Those attending were : Mr. Bob Bivet4s; Mrs . Le onard Haas; · Mrs. Grace Hamilton; Mr. George Kennedy; Mr. Charle$ C. Ma thias; Mr. A. B. Padgett; Mr. Richard H. Rich ; Mr. Ed g ar E . Schuk raft; Mr. Cl ~yt on R. Yates. Committee rnembe,r in attend a nce was: Mr s. Adah Toombs; for the Planning Depart ment of the City of Atla n t a: Mr . W. F. Kennedy; and f o r the Atl a nta Co ns ti t u t ion: Mr. Alex Cof f in. Invit ational Notice , Agend a and other relat ed Documents fo r the meeting a r e attached to the f ile copy o f these minutes. Chairman Langd a le opened the meeting by welcoming those present. The Chairman went to the second item on the agenda because Mr. Bob Bivens was late to the meeting. Second on the program agenda was a presentation by Mr. Frank Sheetz of Sheetz and Bradfield, Ar chitects, on " What is Public Housing?" The present a tion dealt mainly with small towns rather than l arge cities, about the requirements that ar e set up that make a town or city elligible for p u blic housing . The presentat ion als o gave the numbe r of Housi ng Au t ho rities that are loc ate d in the southern part of the United States~ whi ch are: Georgia Florida South Carolina North Carolina Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi 192 63 19 72 99 78 137 40 The Chairman thanked Mr. Sheetz for his pre~entation to the · Com~i~tee and ask ed him ab out an example of Public Housing he used in his presentation. Mr. Sheetz stated that that particular project was the Bankhead Project. This project has 500 units, including 4, 5 and 6 bedrooms and cost from $16,800 to $18,000 per unit. Mr. Edgar Schukraft congratulated Mr. Sheetz on his presentation and stated that was the best presentation on Public Housing he h a d ever seen and the best understood. The Chairman then asked Mr. Sheetz if Atlanta is behind in Public Housing? �PAGE TWO Mr. Sheetz commented · that this is really a policy matter, but Atlanta is behind in Public Housing because of the many slum areas that have not been cleared away. The Chairman then called on Mr. Bob Bivens to make his report to the Committee. Mr. Bivens reported that he, Doris Lockerman and Mr. W. L. Calloway had made a list of sug gested candidates for membership of the Citizens Advis ory Committee for Urb a n Renewal. He further stated that this list is not to be int erpreted as final or complete, but rather as a work list to include both additions and deletions. Mr. Bivens made a recommendation that the Chairma n review the entire list of Committee a ppointees in light of n e wly defined Committee purposes and functions and a ppo i nt an 8- 12 member Executive Committee for assisting him in carrying out the mi ssion of the Committee. Mr. Bivens then stated that CACUR n e eds a re-definition of purpose. This Sub-Committee consists of hlr. Biv e ns, Dean Alex Lacy and Mr. A. B. Padgett. hlr. Bivens st a ted that much of the success of Atlanta's urban renewal activity is direc t ly attribut a ble to the fine, active participation of a representative c r oss-section of citizens who have helped g uide the prog ra m, ask qu e stions and provide liaison with various sectors of the entire community. He continued tha t over the past several yea rs, the approach of urban renewal has c ha nged in ma ny ways, both nationally and locally: 1. Greater emphasis is now b e ing plac e d on citize n participa tion in the planning proc es s, 2. Rehabilitation and upgrading are superseding bulldozing and clearance, 3. The new "Model Cities" program introduces a bold new approach, 4. The Ne i g hborhood De velopme nt Program (NOP) represents a new, fast-moving approa ch capable of accelerating the plann i n g and ·execution o f . renewal activity to accomplish community goals • . That b e c a use of thes e cha n g es, thi s is a good time to re~ d e fine the mis s i on o f the cit ize ns ' or ga niza t i on, de termine th e me mb ers h ip compos it i on n e c essar y to a ccomplis h s uch mission, and o rga n i z e the committee to move for ward in facing the new cha llenges a head. Mr . Bi vens a lso s t a ted th a t the Committ ee is not being approached f o r ad v ice , b ut ra t her is beng informe d af t er p l ans ha v e alrea d y been dev eloped and v ital d ecisions and c ommitment s made, and that in fact t he Citizens Advis o r y Committee has become lar ge ly a "rubber stamp" organization , in wh i c h t he i nte n t of Fed e ral req uirements i s not only aborted, but al s o in wh i ch t he valuable res o urce of talent and mature adyice is not brought _t o b ear on v ital renewal programs. �PAGE THREE If the Committee is to serve in the more constructive role, then the following suggestions are recommended, and membership c·onstituted accordingly: 1. That all plans by the Housing Authority, Model Cities Group, Planning Department and others related to rehabilitation and renewal be presented to the Citizens Advisory Committee or its Executive Committee during the development and before approva l so that the Committee may per f orm its functions of review and be ' in position to advise, and so tha t t he Commi ttee can help sell the programs through a real unders \a nding of the plans and their importance to the City. 2. That the b usiness community continue its active financial participation in the staff cos t s of this program, perhaps to the extent of 1/3 of staff cos ts, with the City paying 2/3 of such cost. 3. That the staff offices be housed in City Hall as close to the Mayor and Assistant hlayor as possible. 4. For retirement purposes and o t her City benefits, that the Executive Director be an employee of the City of Atlanta. 5. following: That duti e s o f the Ex ecutive Director include t h e a. Primarily serving the Chairma n of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Urban Renewal, b. Provide lia ison between the Ma yor's Off ice and CACUR throug h continuous communication with the Chairman, c. Keep well - informed on various activities related to urban r e newa l by cont inuous communic a tion with the City Pl a nning Dep a r t me nt, Atlant a Hous ing Author ity, Mod e l Ci t ies St aff and others work i ng on r e ne wal r e late d a c t ivi t i es, d. Throug h newslette r s a nd other communications, keep Executive Commi ttee a nd f ull Commit tee well - inf ormed on renewa l ma tt e r s , e. Su gges t p ertine nt age nd a it e ms a nd rev iew wi t h t he Chairma n f or Execu ti ve and f ull Commi tt e e meetings; make all ar r a n g ements , f. Preparation o f the ne c essary re p or t s and documenta t ion for certification of the Workable Program insofar as applicable to citizens participation, �, PA.GE FOUR g. That he const antly seek ways to strengthen renewal activity and citizens understanding of and participation therein, h. Preparation of frequent news releases aimed at building public understanding and support, ~. Maintain good lines of communications with othe r or ga nizations such as the Community Relations Commission, Atlanta Youth Council, and others. 6. That a c arefully picked cross - section of established and rising community leaders be developed, reviewed by the Chairman, and appointed by the Ma yor. ( A sub-committee exists on inactive status at the pleasure of the Chairman , ready to propose a list of nominees as soon as the mission of the Committee i s agreed upon. This sub-committee cons ist s of R. W. Bivens, Doris Lockerman and W. L. Calloway . ) 7. That an Executive Committee be appointed, such Executive Committee to consist o f 8 to 12 persons. 8. The Executive Committee shall meet monthly; and the full Committee shall meet quarterly. 9. That special sub-committees shall be appointed as necessary by the Chainnan to accomplish specific purposes. 10. In summary, that the Citizen Advis ory Committee for Urban Renewal aspire toward achieving a higher standard of excellence in the building and renewal -o f our great City to serve better our present and future generations. Because of the time element involved Mr. Bivens stated that the Executive Committee should study the revised list of members (the names that were passed out to each member of the Executive Committee), so that names could be taken off or others added. The Chairman agreed. to discuss this at the next Executive Comm'ittee Meeting next month. The Chairman stated that by 1972 all the money will be used up out of the City funds to build housing (matching funds for NDP areas) that the plan now used is that you must pay as you go. Mr. Richard Rich stated that therefore money is ne eded before any action can be taken. Discussion ensued between the Chairman and Mr. Rich on clarification of the matter. Mr. Edgar sc'hukra ft stated that he has been working on the West End project for about 18 months with the Park Street Methodist Church about building a shopping center. He stated that he wrote the Housing Authority but as yet has not heard from them. �7 PAGE FIVE The Chai r man then a s k ed if there any objections to having an analysis of the West End Project first on the agenda for the next meeting. There were no objections. The Chairman then stated that the agenda for the next meeting would be: I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Analysis of the West End Project Bivens Report New Budget New Members Sta gg ered Terms Sub-Comm ittees Financial Si t uation of U.R. Program (status of matching funds) Mr. Padgett stated that it should be re commended to the Mayor that all members have sta gg ered t~rms. Dr. Langdale then aske d if 2:00 P.M. was a better time for having the meetings? Everyone agr eed. Col. Jones then presented Dr. Langdale with the Financial Report and a draft of the CAC UR 's Proposed Budget. The meeting was adjourned at 4 :35 P. Mo Respectfully submi tted, ,,.--, ---7'. . /J../} _-_e , ' i

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_,,- 1 Malcolm D. Jones Executive Director me Encls: As stated -·· - �