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| Middletown Community News |
| What does a Neighborhood Improvement advisor do? |
| Friday, June 6, 2008 3:21:40 PM - Middletown Ohio |
by John Beagle
I asked Marty Kohler, Middletown City Planning Director about Kyle Fuchs' job as the new neighborhood improvement advisor for the city.
Beagle: Regarding Neighborhood Improvement Advisor - Kyle Fuchs, What does a Neighborhood Improvement advisor do for the city? And, Do we have any neighborhoods we can use as an example.
Kohler: This job is funded from the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG). The primary responsibility for the job is to oversee the implementation of our homebuyer's program (consists of homebuyer's education, downpayment assistance and closing costs), emergency home repair program, housing code enforcement, and blight demolition program. Marty Kohler, Planning Director
Additionally Nelson Self, also from the Middletown City Planning Department made these comments:
"At the request of Planning Director Marty Kohler attached hereto please find our updated listing of potential residential demolition projects. At the present time we have in excess of $80,000 in HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program funds available for this activity. In the very near future we should be receiving an additional $100,000 in similar funding.
While we don’t have sufficient funds to demolish all of the 30 plus properties on said list, we should address most of these. We’ve expanded our listing of eligible demolition bidders and hope that enhanced competitiveness will yield good results.
Sometime next week or the week following we anticipate that Kyle Fuchs will be onboard as our new Neighborhood Improvement Advisor. He and I will make arrangements to meet with you in person to provide a detailed briefing." |
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Archived Comments
| 6/8/2008 6:38:35 PM | Vivian Moon | Middletown Community News
What does a Neighborhood Improvement advisor do?
Friday, June 06, 2008 3:21:40 PM - Middletown Ohio
http://middletownusa.com/view_news.asp?a=3453
Well, well, well...it seems after all these years of fighting the City and Mr. Kohler to save the vault at the Middletown Cemetery I have found the program that will help solve the problem...
Mr. Kohler now has excess funds to tear down blighted buildings around Middletown. Does this include the buildings that the City owns? The vault at the Middletown Cemetery is now in critical condition and ready to tumble down. I'm really glad to know that Mr. Kohler and the CDBG money will be there to clean it up....
Mr. Kohler, tell me again why the City can't give the promised CDBG grant money to save the vault at the Middletown Cemetery?
| | 6/9/2008 9:14:15 AM | Mike | | There are few things in this town left that are as historic or as important to preserving our past as the Middletown Cemetery. It would be a shame, or more like an uncorrectable blunder, if our elected officials continued to neglect this landmark. | | 6/12/2008 12:46:29 PM | Carolyn Dell Patrick | It is a SHAME that the job title "Neighborhood IMPROVEMENT Advisor" (sounds so POSITIVE)seems to be, for OUR city, all about "BLIGHT DEMOLITION" ... VERY NEGATIVE!! Even though the provided "job description" states the PRIMARY function is to oversee our home buyers program, which is already MANDATORY by ALL home lending institutions!! Having been in local banking for over 24 years ... I know for a fact, the Federal Government already OVERSEES all "Home Buyer's Programs" & it is GREATLY, in EVERY lending institutions favor, to show the MOST use of this program as possible. Is the City a lending institution? I find it hard to believe we need anyone else to oversee/perform this function. Emergency repairs sounds very positive but, are there not other service organizations already in place, offering this help to our community?? Do they need "overseeing" as well?? If people are not performing their jobs, (needing "overseeing") ... why do they still have their jobs?? In ANY OTHER workforce, they would loose their jobs!! As far as housing code enforcements ... doesn't the City have such a department already in place?? My brother-in-law works for The City of Columbus (Ohio)in their Housing Codes Department. Certainly our City also has had such a necessary department, probably since the beginning?!?!?! AGAIN ... why do they need "overseeing"?? What's left in the job description is ONLY "blight demolition" ... again a job that is NORMALLY covered under the Housing Codes department. Sooo ... it sounds to me, like this position of "Neighborhood Improvement Advisor" is being redundant ... just an EXTRA person, on the payroll, to "oversee" (make sure)OTHER people's jobs, are being done, ... not to mention, quite NEGATIVE jobs!! It appears, ALL this granted money is ONLY going to be used to demolish 30+ blighted homes. Plus,... as stated, there isn't enough money to even cover ALL 30+ homes. (I am unable to even see the list of homes.) Are these 30 + homes inhabited, abandoned, mortgage-free, lien free, etc, etc.,??? ... what's to replace them after demolition? What are ALL the "after-shocks" of this demolition project? The "IMPROVEMENT" (POSITIVE) part, has to be what happens AFTER these demolitions. I HOPE!!??
As I said before, "Neighborhood IMPROVEMENT Advisor", SOUNDS POSITIVE!! Where's the POSITIVE IMPROVEMENT part??? It SOUNDS like some of this money SHOULD go to OBVIOUS DIRECT IMMEDIATE improvements ... like the saving of the historic stone vault located in The Middletown ("Pioneer") Cemetery!! Why should ALL the grant monies go to negative blight demolitions?? Where is the POSITIVE to help offset the NEGATIVE connotations??
I have personally visited The Middletown Cemetery,and I have seen this dire need first hand. It will be "DEMOLISHED" very soon, just by The City's NEGLECT for the past 40ish years!! I call this A "BLIGHT" on our City Officials. SOMETHINGS ARE IMPORTANT TO SAVE & NOT BE DEMOLISHED ... & THIS HISTORIC SMALL BUILDING SHOULD BE PRESERVED!! Can't we use SOME of these (POSITIVE) grant monies to save this historic part of OUR city?? Save it for our past ... for the BENEFIT of our future!!! PLEASE HELP SEE THAT THIS "POSITIVE" SAVING HAPPENS!!
It is NOT TOO LATE for The City to make up for it's years of neglect and abandoment of this City owned historic property.
THANK YOU FOR DOING THE RIGHT (positive) THING FOR MIDDLETOWN CEMETERY, AND THE "NEIGHBORHOOD's IMPROVEMENT"!!
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