Welcome to Jose – new board member replacing Nancy McCormick from Mount Clare

Minutes Approval

Motion to approve- Jane Shaab, Seconded Scott Kashnow

Motion passes unanimously – Approved

 

Michael Dorsey – Youth Workforce Opportunity

  • Presenting next month instead (March)

 

President’s Remarks

In addition to monthly community meetings- Richard and Tony have been meeting with the new City Council President, new council members, Goldseker Foundation and others to introduce Tony as the new ED and Richard as the President and review our SWP priorities with stakeholders

    • Divine Light: Rebound
      • Notes from January 28th Community Meeting 
      • Waiting on permits, want community feedback 
      • JR questioned the layout given the residential component 
      • Lou P mentioned they have permits and work is happening already
      • Roger – Southwest seems to be picking up a large array of community centers, questioned why we need another one offering similar programs
      • Only zoned for 16 units of residential treatment, they committed to only 16
      • Many folks expressed questioned about the project- lou, Scott, Bif, all questioned the best use of the space
      • Jane Shaab, at the very least, we should bring it to the attention of the elected officials in our area that this is not what SWP envisioned for W Baltimore Street
      • Laura Dykes- are we making a motion to oppose this and directing staff to officially oppose?? Laura would like to make a motion to officially oppose and draft a letter of opposition
      • Second by Jane B
      • Discussion- Heather Kangas, we need to really understand the message it could send to the larger community that we don’t want this type of facility in our neighborhood; wondering what the alternatives are? What does this say to our neighbors who use drugs, who have family members who use drugs etc.
      • Jane B- this is not what we are saying, the issue is it is a commercial strip, many people are looking to invest in new businesses along this major thoroughfare. Not to mention, they don’t have the best reputation and we don’t want to lose the progress that we have made by investing in West Baltimore Street
      • George Kleb- let’s stick to the facts- are they misrepresenting where they are with the project, and we should investigate that, we need to be certain they are being honest with us about all aspects of the project
      • Dan Bythewood- He participated in the last Divine Light conversation. He heard much community opposition. As a community that is trying to rebound, there is a concern with individuals living on site, and the open air drug market outside of that building, and to put individuals smack in the face of drug dealers, it is hard to understand how they expect those folks to be successful. Not to mention the “security” that would need to be done on the residential side. How do we address this problem for our community members in this location.
      • Sonia- Concern about how they came into the neighborhood- if they would have done it the right way, they would have known that we already have a few new community centers, rec centers etc. We should come together and try and block it
      • David MacGill- Thank you and commended Heather for speaking up; should we make it explicitly clear what we don’t like about this particular operator and plan, not overarching against treatment
      • Bif- Agree with David, we aren’t opposed to drug treatment in the neighborhood; example is Bon Secours is doing it well in the neighborhood; our issue is with this specific operator. They operate a smaller site in Union Square and they have had issue; 4 months ago, they changed the whole program and now they are doing more of a “PR campaign”; they are setting these folks up for failure – They also didn’t do a certificate of need since we are already inundated with a variety of drug treatment programs; Finally we need to go back to our master plan and see how these new businesses align with our vision plan
      • Sonia- I also have a problem with this being a “pilot program” since we don’t know how it’s going to go- that’s a big unknown since this model is new to DL
      • Lou, the city planning office- they have our plan- and how did this project get even this far given our vision plan 
      • JR- We have over 9 liquor stores in a 9 block radius— our problem is alcohol addiction not necessarily opioids; they have turned a blind eye to the real problem in our area
      • Roger- To expand on Heather and Abigail and Bif’s thoughts, is there a legitimate case that there already effective treatment options in the region? Can a case be made that there is no need for a fourth “community” center in just blocks away from much larger community centers with better-aligned operations?
      • Ashley recapped the motion and asked if Laura accepted David’s amendments; 
      • Richard called the vote- FOR- George, Edith, JR, Sonia, Abigail, Ashley, Chuck, Donnell, David M, Jane S, Jose, Kris Hoellen, Laura, Scott, JR
      • Heather, Richard and Kelly (abstain)
  • Motion passes- 15 for, 3 abstentions 

Executive Director’s Report

  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training Responses– we received 2 responses and they were shared with the Board. The link shows a very rough analysis of both proposals, Common Health Action and the Diversity Training Group, prices are comparable –online equity assessment (and an analysis back to the back and then a second chuck of the cost is mostly implementation of the work plans they end us suggesting)
    • Jane asked about budget- Tony answered- We set aside $20K, one proposal came in at 21k and the other at 22k
    • David Macgill asked if Tony would be checking references, tony responded that they would each like to present to the board- The issue is they both have “technical assistance” and implementation that would be an additional charge
    • Richard suggested letting them come present and Kris agreed that since they were quite similar, maybe meeting with them in person might help us decide
    • Lou saw quite a range in the Diversity Training Group’s proposal and so it would be beneficial to hear from them directly
    • Richard agreed – Tony will invite them to our next meeting to present
  • Projects Review– all updated linked here- only the discussion is captured below:
    • Printing Initiative – get slide from Tony with more specifics, 1000 fliers per year for each neighborhood association
    • Ms Sonia- she is going to blow through that VERY fast
  • Michael Seipp will be staying on as a consultant thanks to contributions from the Goldseker Foundation
  • Discussion around Workforce Initiatives- Jane B- Rachel Goodrich, our workforce development associate, handles each case with great care- she is doing a wonderful job, Ashley agreed, 29 people working with thanks to SWP is a great stat!
  • Elizabeth explained there is about a 29% placement rate
  • Sonia- I’d like to learn more, so Richard invited her to the next workforce development meeting
  • Dotie- how many people are signed up for the computer classes- only a handful of people are taking advantage of the free classes
  • Kris asked how the placed workers are doing with Covid—Elizabeth explained that they are actually doing well because most were placed with hospitals
  • Regarding the LNYW program- Ashley added that 53 new homeowners in the 7 neighborhoods are UMB employees
  • Richard- how did Plano construction end up with the job—they have donated all of their project/construction management fees – they are also a local company in Pigtown
  • Dan B- Who have you talked to about the La Cite portion of the funding for the $250k for park improvements- Dan isn’t sure this is going to be allowed; Michael said he thought this would be; Dan- it was intended to be used in and around the park, not for park improvements itself
  • David MacGill asked who would be the operator once the Greater Model rec—Mike, Sowebo Sports and Fitness Alliance would be the operator of the rec center
  • Richard asked about the Board of Directors for the Lord Baltimore Theater- who is on the paperwork for the filing of the nonprofit…Michael Seipp is the only name on the paperwork as the resident agent. Seipp said the IRS didn’t require that he list a board- but it is something that the executive committee and board take action on
  • Bif- When the new board forms, they will take responsibility for the fundraising of the project, move the liability from the partnership to this new board and 100% of their focus goes to raising funds; would the partnership be reimbursed for what SWP put in- Michael says that is the goal
  • Lord Baltimore Theater- JR, he liked to be on the Board for this project; He also mentioned we need eyes and ears on that building to keep it from falling in further disrepair; David asked about the Liberty Heights theater project, is the competition because of a similar mission, Michael said yes
  • Closing- Richard would like to do this kind of “full project” update on a more regular basis to keep the public up to date

Committee Reports

  1. Commercial- Intervention purchase of 1401-1403 W Baltimore St.
    Through our West Baltimore Street Acquisition & Stabilization fund, which was approved by the Board for strategic interventions on Baltimore Street, the Commercial Committee approved supporting Nadine from Women’s Home Preservation Fund with up to $125,000 to acquire and revitalize 1401-1403 W Baltimore Street. Nadine will be responsible for financing the remaining $800,000.
    The project will provide 4 units of rental housing specifically for single-mothers who work in neighboring hospitals and medical institutions. And plans to use the 1st-floor retail for an Afro-centric cafe, and another business that meets community needs.
    SWP plans to own 49% of this project as a guarantee for satisfactory completion; Richard commended Laura and David for doing such a strong job
  2. Education- Youth recruitment is their focus; about 5 attended their last meeting and heard a number of presentations including from Richard
  3. Historic Preservation- request from Ms Sonia to have their support on housing/properties project in Poppleton near/on Sarah Ann street– Here is the draft letter https://docs.google.com/document/d/19KSzHurH5q7gdVRk2M9sQvKSDmVJwm2trEPGijzNmm4/edit 
    1. Richard says, why do we need to send the letter if they are coming to the meeting- Scott basically agreed unless there is something imminent – ms Sonia said because she hasn’t gotten answers, 
    2. Send letter to chap, housing, and the mayor’s office—jane b, send it to put more than chap “on notice”
    3. Can Baltimore Heritage help with history research-dotie asked- so they could back us up
    4. Dan Bythewood- Sarah Ann street is protected, 1000 block of Sara Ann was torn down…300 block isn’t historic, but La Cite has all documentation on what is historic and what isn’t
    5. Heather invited Dan B to come to the housing committee meeting to go into more detail
  4. Housing 2nd thurs 7pm mchenry street 4 homes coming online- homebuyers club to get a group ready for purchasing
  5. Public Safety= Stressed bpd is now on board with cameras
  6. Vibrant Streets- divided up projects among committee members, always looking for more members
  7. Workforce- Focus on advocating for workforce legislation during session in Annapolis

 

Open Forum

Joined by Tyler from Senator Ferguson and Tom Phillips from Mayor’s office

 

Donnell- treasures report went out today for the January expenditures

 

Adjournment

Sonia, motion to adjourn, seconded by Ashley

Scroll to Top