Rockwood Weed N' Seed
Steering Committee

Minutes 3/28/01

Attending:
Dennis Donin, Mayor Chuck Becker, Linda Jaramillo, Carol Cole, Jeff Howes, Susan Brady, Charlotte Dorsey, Theresa Kuminski, Hope Cervantez, Tip Phanakhone, Patti Swanson, Lorena Campbell, Joan Pasco, JoAnn Bowman, Judy Alley, Sharron Kelley, Rebecca Teasdale, Beth Faulhaber, Maura White-Cioeta, Francisco Lopez, Bob Robison, Jeff Beiswerger, Don King, Diane Peterson, Sean Cruz, Richard Ross, Brett Walker.

Welcome:
Mayor Becker welcomed everyone to the meeting and discussed the importance of prevention and intervention in conjunction with community development.

Overview of Weed N' Seed Program:
Diane Peterson discussed some of the history of the Weed N' Seed program, which is a community revitalization strategy that combines various aspects of law enforcement with community development projects. She stated that although every Weed N' Seed site is different, each site uses a strategy that combines four specific components:

  1. Community policing
  2. Law Enforcement
  3. Prevention & Intervention
  4. Neighborhood Restoration
She said that to gain "official recognition" as a Weed N' Seed site from the US Dept. of Justice we must develop a comprehensive, workable strategy that addresses each of these components. We will have to apply for official recognition by October 31, 2001 and we will have to file a letter of intent by August 31, 2001.

Being an officially recognized site allows us to apply for federal grant funding. Diane stressed that although funding is beneficial, we can implement the strategy even if we do not receive official recognition.

Diane continued to discuss some of the pros and cons of being an officially recognized Weed N' Seed Site.
Pros:

  • $175, 000 possible from federal funds (one time only or per year???), $50,000 of which must be dedicated to law enforcement.
  • After one year, we can apply for up to $150,000 grant funding for special initiative areas. This money can be used for a wide range of activities.
  • Many other grants can be leveraged if we receive official recognition.
  • Training conference opportunities
  • Technical assistance from Weed N' Seed office at no cost. Cons:
  • US D.O.J has certain organizational requirements that must be met.
  • Motivation and enthusiasm can be lost over time.
  • There can be no more than three funded sites within a given jurisdiction. Currently there are two funded sites in the Metro area, and a group in St. Johns will be applying for official recognition this year as well. (Diane and Sean Cruz thought that this may not be an issue, as there is legislation in the works to greatly expand funding for the Weed N' Seed program.)

Diane raised a few more points:
  • We will need to hire a program coordinator.
  • We will need a "Safe Haven" facility.
  • Five years after official recognition, we will need to reapply for a Weed N' Seed designation.
  • Weed N' Seed is different from other grant programs because it allows government jurisdictions and agencies, local businesses, social service providers, non-profits, and community members to collaborate.
  • We need to know what our vision for our community is. What do we want/need to accomplish?
Overview of National and Local Activities: Sean Cruz talked about the establishment of the Weed N' Seed program. Several US Attorneys sought a long-term solution for many social problems that communities face. He stated that the two fundamental pillars of the Weed N' Seed program are the US Attorneys Office and the community. He also noted the advantage of being able to prosecute offenders on federal charges through the US Attorneys Office.

City of Gresham Perspectives:
Richard Ross talked about two key principles:

  1. Fixing Broken Windows: For a community to be safe and healthy, fixing broken windows (both literal and figurative) is critically important.
  2. Small is Beautiful: If we focus our efforts on a small area, we can accomplish more.

He addressed a few concerns the City has for Rockwood: Is the community safe? Do we have sufficient affordable housing? Do we connect economic opportunities for our community?

Richard continued by mentioning that Weed N' Seed can help facilitate the Rockwood Action Plan (RAP) and can help us improve on the Rockwood Urban Renewal Plan, which is in its initial phase. He also discussed the City's Stark St. Improvement Plan.

General Discussion:
Mayor Becker: Expressed concern that we seek real solutions to problems that exist in Rockwood, not just move them from one place to another.
Patti Swanson: We need to make an effort to improve the quality of life in Rockwood while we still have a sense of community.
Carol Cole: If we get Weed N' Seed designation, having a coordinator in Rockwood will be a wonderful community asset.
Linda Jaramillo: It is important that we recognize the uniqueness of Rockwood. We need to work hard to build bridges across racial lines.
Maura White-Cioeta: This is a difficult process, but it will be worthwhile.
Theresa Kuminski: Discussed the religious and ethnic diversity that exists in Rockwood, and reminded the committee that there are many cultural issues that the community has to deal with on a daily basis.
Bob Robison: Due to the substantial commitment involved in pursuing the Weed N' Seed designation, getting federal funding is not as important as pursuing the strategy.

Organizational Discussion: Sharron Kelley talked about the importance of combining efforts with other Weed N' Seed sites and the possibility of developing a statewide Weed N' Seed website.

Sharron suggested organizing ourselves into four subcommittees:

  1. Community Policing
  2. Business & Economic Development
  3. Health & Social Services
  4. Neighborhood Revitalization
The importance of having citizen involvement in each subcommittee was discussed.

Due to the fact that we already have a lot of demographic information on Rockwood at our disposal and plans such as RAP have already been developed, the subcommittees will not be responsible for initiating any new plans or demographics. Instead, we are going to take the information that we already have and implement that into the work that the subcommittees will do.

Joan Pasco volunteered to be a repository of all existing plans and demographic documents.

Sharron Kelley, Brett Walker, and Joan Pasco will staff the subcommittees.

There was some discussion as to who will actually write the grant, and it was decided that it will be a group effort. Richard Ross volunteered to review the grant once it is written. Joan stated that we can get the grant written in 60 days if the subcommittees have a strong vision and work hard over the next five months. It was decided that the steering committee will reconvene in early September.

Mayor Becker delivered closing remarks and thanked everyone for coming.