[NLC] NLC NEI Committee

[Jan Wostmann]

Hi Kevin,

You raise an excellent question that deserves a thorough answer.  Of
course the idea of hiring a consultant belongs to Susan Muir and Renee
Grube, so I will ask them to respond.

When asked if the NLC could help in selecting the consultant, David and I
could have said that it is a bad idea that we want no part of.  We didn’t.
We decided that if a consultant is coming, better to have a hand in
selecting that person than not.

Many neighborhood leaders, including myself have criticized the City’s
Neighborhood Empowerment Initiative staff team for having done nothing of
substance since the Neighborhood Summit last February.

So is this latest plan, the one outlined by Susan Muir in her memo to
Council, a good-faith effort to remedy the inaction, or just kicking the
can down the road for another day.

Again, I will ask Susan and/or Renee to respond to you directly.  In
addition, Southeast Neighbors could designate a person to be on the NLC
NEI Committee where this topic will be discussed on September 19th.

Regards,

Jan


On Fri, September 7, 2007 8:57 am, Kevin Matthews wrote:
> Dear Jan and David,
>
>
> I wonder if you could explain for the rest of us how that consultant
> agenda is not highly duplicative of the community work already done on
> the Neighborhood Associations Initiative?
>
> In the context of other recent events, how do we interpret this new
> consultant loop as something other than a pointed approach to studying
> the issue to death -- instead of, for instance, moving forward smartly
> based on the solid answers to most of these same questions that are
> already well in hand, backed up by a substantial degree of community and
> elected official consensus, directly from the expensive (in time at
> least) and highly successful Neighborhood Summit?
>
> Thanks much,
>
>
> Kevin
>
>
>
> On Thu, 6 Sep 2007 23:13:12 -0700 (PDT), Jan Wostmann wrote:
>
>> Neighborhood Leaders and NLC reps,
>>
>>
>> David and I had our monthly meeting with the PDD management team this
>> afternoon.  One of the items we discussed was the consultant the
>> department will be hiring to do the following:
>>
>> • An analysis of the City’s current support structure to the
>> Neighborhood
>> Associations
>> • A comparison to other exemplary neighborhood programs across the
>> country • Recommendations for the future organizational structure of
>> Neighborhood
>> Services to increase support to Neighborhood Associations
>> • Recommendations to improve participation and effectiveness of the
>> Neighborhood Associations
>> • Recommendations to improve two-way communication between all City
>> departments and the Neighborhood Associations
>>
>> Staff asked for our input in reviewing the Request for Qualifications
>> (RFQ) for the consultant before it goes out and in evaluating the RFQ
>> responses.  David and I are assigning this task to the NLC Neighborhood
>> Empowerment Initiative Committee.
>>
>>
>> The current list of committee members is as follows:
>>
>>
>> Fairmount Neighbors  - John Barofsky
>> Jefferson Westside Neighbors - Rene Kane
>> Whiteaker Community Council - Janet Marshall-O'Bryant
>> River Road Community Organization - Carleen Reilly
>> Laurel Hill Valley Citizens - Jan Wostmann
>> NLC Co-Chair - David Hinkley
>>
>>
>> I am sending this message to the full NLC list in case I have
>> inadvertently left anyone off, or in case an unrepresented neighborhood
>> wishes to designate a member.
>>
>> The next NLC NEI meeting will be Wednesday, September 19, 2007, from
>> 3:00
>> to 5:00 p.m.  Details about location, agenda and meeting materials will
>> be emailed to committee members next week.
>>
>> Jan Wostmann
>> NLC Co-Chair
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
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