Latest news with #communitydevelopment
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
CT city awarded $450K+ for a new, inclusive playground for children with disabilities
Newington has been awarded a $485,000 grant to build a new, inclusive playground at Candlewyck Park, town officials said. The town project, announced by Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday, is part of a $30 million package distributed to 46 small towns across Connecticut for capital improvement projects focused on infrastructure, community development and quality-of-life upgrades. The Candlewyck Park project will be matched by $121,365 in local funding, bringing the total project cost to $606,976, officials said. The grants are all part of the state's Small Town Economic Assistance Program. 'We are incredibly grateful to Governor Lamont and his staff for their support for this important infrastructure project,' said Newington Mayor Jon Trister. 'This grant will help establish a state-of-the-art playground and play space for the residents of the Candlewyck neighborhood. We are thrilled with this announcement.' The new playground will feature accessible play elements for all children, regardless of ability. Officials said the project also supports the town's long-term commitment to neighborhood revitalization and inclusive park access throughout Newington. 'The Newington Parks and Recreation Department happily announces that Governor Lamont and the State Legislature have awarded the town of Newington this critical funding to replace the outdated playground equipment in the Lamplighter Lane area,' said Don Woods, chair of the town's parks and recreation board. 'This grant allows us to move forward with the second and final stage of renovations at Candlewyck Park.' The Candlewyck Park project builds upon the town's ongoing work to enhance parks town wide. In recent years, the town has completed major renovations at Mill Pond Park Playground, Churchill Park Playground, Clem Lemire Playground, Beacon Park Playground, Beechwood Park Playground, Eagle Park Playground, and Seymour Park Playground. For additional information on the Candlewyck Park inclusive playground or other ongoing projects, contact the Newington Parks and Recreation Department at 860-665-8666 or visit
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mayoral challenger says city needs to plan, not react
For Ron Beattie, running for Frederick mayor is about planning ahead, especially during what he described as a current 'inflection point' in the city's history. Beattie is running as a Democrat, challenging incumbent Democratic Mayor Michael O'Connor, who is seeking a third four-year term. Beattie is a consultant on alternative energy. 'I don't think we've been planning. We react,' said Beattie, a former planning commissioner of five years, who resigned before his term ended in July to run for mayor. Whether its large projects like the West Side Regional Park or city fees designed to fund affordable housing projects, Beattie said the city needs to get ahead of major developments. 'The best example of that, I think, would be Brickworks,' he said. The 64-acre property was vacant for over a decade, but in recent years, plans to develop it with housing and commercial businesses have been submitted. Although the property received approval for a master plan of development in 2023, the project is still being reviewed by the Frederick Planning Commission. 'We should have had a plan for Brickworks 10 years before somebody actually came in with a proposal for it,' he said. 'We should have been seeking those people out.' Similarly, Beattie said, the city should have proactively worked to find a space for a West Side community center. The city is set to hire someone to start the design phase of the community center this year, though the then-Board of Aldermen originally put funds toward it in 2023. Beattie said the city could have explored using the old Frederick Towne Mall on West Patrick Street as a city building to house the community center, saving on construction costs. Beattie said he wants to streamline the planning process, especially for developers constructing affordable housing, or as he described it, 'attainable' housing. He wants to develop a prioritization system, which he said could cut years off the planning process for affordable housing. 'If a developer comes and says, 'I want to put a 100% affordable housing project in Frederick,' they go to the front of the line,' Beattie said. 'You cut two to three years out of their development process, and then it cuts their cost so that they can build something that's affordable.' He said the city's planning department should report directly to the mayor, rather than the current system, in which the deputy director of planning is under the director of public works. 'Do we think so little of planning that we're going to bury it in some bureaucracy?' he asked. Currently, the city requires that all new housing developments include a certain percentage of affordable housing. However, developers may pay a fee in lieu of following through with this requirement. 'In terms of affordability and attainable housing, we have to stop de-incentivizing things,' Beattie said of the option for developers to pay the fee. City code mandates the money raised by the fund be put toward an affordable housing fund. However, the council did not have an immediate plan of what to do with the funds raised by the fee, Beattie said. 'That's government malpractice 101,' he said. Similarly, the city collects a fee to issue rental licenses for landlords. None of that money had yet been spent as of early May, city spokesperson Allen Etzler said. The ordinance also mandates that city code officials inspect rental housing units according to the city's health and safety standards. The council passed the ordinance requiring the license fee in 2022. Of 802 initial random inspections the city conducted in 2024, around 280, or 35%, resulted in a violation, according to a report provided to a City Council committee in February. Just two violations were found that resulted in tenants being forced to temporarily relocate, and both instances were caused by the tenant, Code Enforcement Manager Brittany Parks said in February. 'So why did we take all this money out of the economy to fix a problem that doesn't exist?' Beattie asked. Beattie also raised issues with the city's Department of Housing and Human Services. 'HHS is a great example of what we don't know about, what's going on in city government,' he said. 'It's opaque.' He described the director position in the department as a 'revolving door.' The city recently hired former state of Maryland official Stuart Campbell to take over the role, which was held by Ramenta Cottrell from 2020 to 2024. He said the department must work on more permanent solutions to aid those who living paycheck-to-paycheck. 'We feed people and we give people an occasional bed, but what are the programs of bringing people out of the situation that they're in and becoming more productive members of society?' he asked. 'I don't see us doing that.' He described the impending effects of federal funding cuts under the administration of President Donald Trump as 'dark clouds.' He said the city should look to partner more closely with the state to help work through the effects of federal funding cuts. 'Fortunately, we have a very good governor, who, I think, has been doing an outstanding job dealing with the cuts that have already been made,' Beattie said. 'And I think partnering with the state, especially a state that has a strong governor, is going to help us.' The city's primary election is set for Sept. 9. The general election is set for Nov. 4. No other candidates had filed to run for mayor as of Thursday. The filing deadline is July 1.
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Huntsville City Council holds work session to discuss unkept properties
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The Huntsville City Council hears from concerned community members about unkept properties all the time. A work session was held Friday morning to address these concerns. The number of these rose to a point where District 2 Councilman David Little asked for a work session to discuss what the council can do to address these issues. Madison County School employees receive $1,000 salary raises During the work session, Huntsville Community Development Manager Scott Erwin gave a presentation to the council on what his department does to enforce the upkeep of properties. Erwin said the department issued about 8,300 notices in 2024. A majority of which were due to the condition of people's yards and houses. Around 5,600 people voluntarily complied and fixed the issue, while 2,600 didn't in the time allowed. Therefore, the City had to step in. 'One of our priorities is educating our community and increasing our voluntary compliance rates for grass, weeds, junk, house structures,' Erwin said. 'We find that we have a very high success rate when we educate and inform our community when there is an issue they might be in violation of.' City leaders hear the frustrations of those living near the nuisance properties, but said they have to give everyone due process to fix the issues. Decatur Morgan Hospital achieves CLABSI infection rate of zero 'If we are not following due process, then all of a sudden it is a federal issue,' Little said. 'It could be something as small as a weed issue could become a Supreme Court issue.' Due to the number of people who voluntarily complied after receiving a citation, District 3 Councilwoman Jennie Robinson said during the meeting that if the Community Development Department issued more citations, it could help properties get cleaned up faster. Erwin said the department has seven inspectors, which can make it hard to get out to every area of the City in a timely fashion, which led to the council being introduced to a new technology that could help. Huntsville's Chief Innovation Officer, Larry Lowe, presented an option that the council could consider, which would add cameras to garbage trucks. These cameras would scan people's properties when picking up trash. 'Essentially, what would happen is the garbage truck would drive every single road, they would take an image, and they would process the data,' Lowe said. This would alert the department to potential violations but wouldn't automatically result in a citation. 'It simply gives us where a potential violation may be,' Erwin said. 'We will lay eyes on it, again, we are not going through neighbors looking, it actually tells us where they may be a condition that exists.' Little said he's all on board with this and wants the council to act quickly on it. He also said that he knows enforcing the care of these properties can be a double-edged sword. 'Somebody's having a hardship, you know well, let's give them another 10 days,' Little said. 'There's other times when people are gaming the system, or hard to track down, and now the neighbors are dealing with this blighted property, so what can we do to protect them too.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
a day ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Denver's Sun Valley neighborhood near Empower Field at Mile High gets full makeover
For years, Denver's Sun Valley neighborhood just south of Empower Field at Mile High has essentially been a construction site. The efforts to redevelop the area have been in the works for over a decade. But, slowly, community members are now returning to the place they call home. CBS "I've got to see the changes of it being neighbors walking outside, to everyone being in these new, nice buildings with air conditioning and dishwashers," neighborhood resident Maccarah Vaugh told CBS Colorado. "And seeing the kids grow up, it's been beautiful." Vaughn is a single mother who had to relocate during construction. The Denver Housing Authority tore down its public housing built in the 1950s to replace it with nearly three times the amount of housing, community areas, improved infrastructure, and even a small market. For her, it's been more than worth it now that she's back. "It has been a very positive thing," Vaughn said. "I see that it's helped us with being able to walk outside in our neighborhoods, on the sidewalks, at nighttime with the lights, and more people are out." DHA CEO Joaquín Cintrón Vega hopes other cities will take notice of their approach in this massive affordable housing redevelopment, which was heavily focused on asking community members for their input. "We are very intentional about creating this model that can be followed, not only regionally but nationally," Cintrón Vega said. "You know, making sure that, as we are tasked to provide places to go home and those beautiful apartments, we all are also mindful about the healthy environment that should be present for those families and individuals, and providing some additional amenities for them." DHA obtained over $30 million in federal grants and more than $60 million from a city of Denver bond program to spearhead the project. The final apartment building will open later this year, and, in total, seven new multifamily buildings serving nearly 1,000 households will be built. The final leg of the redevelopment project will establish Sun Valley Riverfront Park along the South Platte River. The first 5.5 acres of the eventual 11-acre recreational space will begin construction in 2026. According to DHA, the area has been home to some of the city's most vulnerable residents. With 94% of the housing market subsidized before redevelopment, it was important for them to improve the area, not push people out. "The hardest part of gentrification is the displacement," said Erin Clark, DHA's chief real estate investment officer. "Changing a community into something that is different than what it was before at its core -- and where the people who made that community valuable in the first place no longer have a place to call home or feel welcome there -- that is exactly the opposite of what we've sought to do here."
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Blight Busters uplift Detroit with affordable housing in Old Redford
For months, CBS News Detroit has followed the transformation unfolding in Detroit's Old Redford neighborhood — from the first shovel in the ground to the final touches on a major new housing development. Now, that vision is a reality. The Orchard Village Apartments, a brand-new 48-unit affordable housing complex, is officially complete. The project is the latest milestone for Detroit Blight Busters, a grassroots organization that's been revitalizing neighborhoods for nearly four decades. John George, executive director of Blight Busters, has been on the front lines of Detroit's battle against blight since 1988. That year, he and a group of neighbors boarded up a vacant drug house, and the movement began. "We started this work 37 years ago because we didn't want our children growing up and around that negative energy," George said. "To see this kind of development in the neighborhood where we started is very exciting, to say the very least." The project was completed in partnership with CHN Housing Partners — a large-scale affordable housing developer, residential lender and housing service provider that works with its partners to solve major housing challenges for low-income people and underserved communities. According to George, it's not just about structural buildings; it's about building better lives. "It's all about quality of life," he said. "Our children, all children, deserve to grow up in a neighborhood that's safe and clean." Affordable housing remains one of Detroit's most pressing needs. Since 2017, the average rent in Detroit has increased by 55% for single-family homes and 43% for multifamily homes, according to data from the Urban Institute. Developments like Orchard Village help address that gap, offering stability and opportunity for families who need it most. For George, this work is personal. A self-described "Brightmoor baby," he was born on Chapel Street and Fenkell Avenue and remains committed to making Detroit a place where everyone feels at home. "[Detroit is a city of] people putting their petty differences aside," he said. "Creating opportunity, creating spaces and places where all are welcome, and creating a Detroit our children deserve." A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Orchard Village Apartments is June 2nd at 11 a.m. George says everyone is welcome to attend. CBS News Detroit will continue to follow the impact of this project and the people behind it as part of our ongoing "Detroit Proud" series.
