Court Street Village - CSVNewsletterVol2No1

Court Street Village is proud to announce the founding of the Edward J. Neithercut Housing Restoration Fund. The purpose of the fund is to improve the neighborhoods closest to downtown Flint by acquiring (through donation or purchase), restoring and selling homes to be used as owner occupied dwellings. The new homeowners will be low to moderate income families who will be obligated to join and participate in the neighborhood homeowners association.

Homes will be selected for their proximity to other revitalization projects so as to create a ripple effect by attracting and sustaining additional private capital. Home buyers will have participated in local educational programs on home ownership & maintenance, a down payment savings match/assistance program and will be pre-qualified for a mortgage.

The fund will be replenished by proceeds from the sale of completed homes. However ongoing fund raising will be required as the sale price of the homes is anticipated to be less than the cost of the rehab until market values rise from improved neighborhoods.

The City of Flint is finalizing a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) grant of $227,000. to Court Street Village for the purchase, rehab and resale to new owners of 3 to 4 homes in the south section of the Grand Traverse District Neighborhood Association area. Court Street Village is working closely with the GTDNA Land Use Committee to identify the homes, which will be located in close proximity to each other.

When completed, the homes will be offered for sale to individuals or families with low to moderate income with preference being given to participants in the Metro Housing IDA (Individual Development Account) Program. Participants in the program take personal finance & homeowner classes and have their savings matched in their IDA account for use as a down payment on a mortgage to finance the new home. Proceeds from the sale of the homes will then be used to purchase and rehab additional homes in the area.

“Flint’s best kept secret” is that Court Street Village currently has apartment homes available for rent. Court Street Village is a senior community for those 55 or better located on Court Street in the college cultural area. Court Street Village West, located at 700 East Court Street, has 106 apartment homes with a full line of amenities. The architecture in this building is not only grand but also very impressive. Just walking into the building takes you back to a more peaceful yet playful time. We are offering, for a limited time, a one bedroom apartment for $505.00 per month, for those who income qualify. And the $505.00 includes all our amenities plus your heat, air conditioning, water and sewer & trash removal. Our amenities include: The beauty salon where you can relax while getting your hair done or having a manicure. There are two licensed beauticians and a nail technician. Our fully stocked library not only offers a variety of reading material and DVD's, and videos, plus access to the Internet is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at no charge. You have your choice of shared sitting areas that have TV’s, puzzles, games, reading material, and if you enjoy the sun shine, you can relax on our wrap around, old fashioned, grand porch or participate in the planned activities program.
Other floor plans and rental rates may be available for you and your unique situation. Stop by and enjoy a tour of our beautiful community, or call Teresa Taylor at 810-239-4970. And, if you need a ride, our community van will pick you up!

John Briggs served as a Board member and Treasurer of Court Street Village Non Profit Housing Corp for 9 years until his retirement in December 2006. As a member of the Executive Committee, he was actively involved in the growth of our programs during that period. He brought valued advice through years of experience as a local CPA to our financial decisions. We will miss his help and counsel and thank him for all his hard work.

We are pleased to announce that Don Misener, CPA has been appointed to the Board of Directors and elected the new Treasurer. Don is the Corporate Controller of Genesys Health System and has served in the past on the boards of several local non-profit service organizations including the Resource Center and the Finance Committee of the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.

In 2003, hundreds of residents from Flint, Michigan and surrounding areas in Genesee County came together to start a movement for positive change known as the Community Challenge.
MISSION: The Community Challenge is an initiative dedicated to building a better community where: Citizens regularly organize to bring about the change they desire. Leaders value and incorporate civic engagement as a regular component to key decision making processes related to public agenda issues. Area non-profits have the capacity to provide a sustainable civic engagement infrastructure to support ongoing civic engagement.

BACKGROUND: The Community Challenge provides the capacity and structure to sustain long-term community engagement. It supports residents in creating a vision around public issues identified as a priority in their communities. In the last few years, community participants involved in Work Groups worked together with key stakeholders to address issues and accomplish goals in areas related to Economic Development, Education, Visual Change and the Downtown Flint Area

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT DEFINITION: Civic engagement is comprised of individual and collective efforts or processes designed to identify and address community needs and issues of public concern. In a democracy, all segments of the community – businesses, nonprofits, government agencies, and individual residents -- can and should be involved.

Civic engagement can take many forms, from individual volunteerism to organizational involvement to electoral participation. It may involve individual action or group processes that result in positive community change and decision making that is more reflective of community needs and desires.

SUCCESS STORY: A group of citizens dedicated to Visual Change worked with the City of Flint Attorney and the Building & Safety Inspection office to develop a Civil Infraction System that more effectively addresses code enforcement issues. These citizens also developed a brochure to raise awareness about the Civil Infractions System that has been mailed to all city of Flint households. If you’d like a copy of this brochure, email us at: csvnp@sbcglobal.net. The group also successfully lobbied for the demolition of ten of the worst eyesores in the city. We salute Steve Wall. Court Street Village Neighborhood Program Director for taking a leadership role in this important effort to help make Flint Neighborhoods a better place to live.

The main accomplishments of the Visual Change Group are: Successfully engaged a variety of community citizens from various sectors including neighborhood organizations, non-profit organizations, city and county municipalities and District Court, in identifying issues, and defining strategies to address blight reduction and code enforcement. They first developed a visual map to depict code enforcement processes and identify blocks and barriers to a successful resolution of code enforcement issues.

Committee members provided input to the City Attorney's office in the development of a Civil Infraction System to more effectively address code enforcement issues in Flint .

Identified, via ballots from community residents, the 10 most disturbing eyesores within the City of Flint and sought to obtain successful disposition of these blight issues through the code enforcement process;

Obtained funding to promote awareness throughout the city of the Civil Infractions System.

Developed a brochure to promote the Civil Infractions System that was mailed to all city of Flint Households in May of 2007.