A collaborative project of the East St. Louis Enterprise Community (EC),

Neighborhood Organizations assisted – 12

Faith Based Organizations assisted – 9

Municipal Agencies assisted – 4

Non-Profit Organizations assisted – 6

Other – 3

September was a busy month at the Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center. Administratively, the NTAC focused on our grant proposals to the Enterprise Community and to the St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department. The NTAC prepared a full proposal for both and submitted the proposals on September 30. We are requesting a total of $170,745.00 from the Enterprise Community to support our twelve on-going program activities and the EC’s Faith Based Organizing Initiative. From St. Clair County, we are requesting $46,258.00 to support a fourth staff person at the NTAC and the related costs of that position. The NTAC is looking forward to a favorable response from the EC and St. Clair County.

In September, we were also busy with the Urban Resources Partnership program for the 1999 grant period. All full proposals for this year’s grant cycle were due on September 17^th. The NTAC assisted Alta Sita Neighbors, Inc. (revised 1998), Alta Sita Development Corporation (revised 1998), South End New Development Organization, East St. Louis Community Action Network, Emerson Park Development Corporation and the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities. Our assistance varied with each organization, but included project planning, budgeting, implementation scheduling, in-kind pledges, map making and grant proposal review. It was a busy "URP" month at the NTAC.

The NTAC’s design and construction management projects also moved forward this month with major progress being made on the Neighbors Place One project in cooperation with Neighbors United for Progress and the Urban Resources Partnership. This project should be near completion at 45^th and Market by the end of October or early November. The NTAC also continued working with the Carver Community Center, Urban Resources Partnership and CDBG on the renovation and landscaping of the Center.

With LaTonya Webb on maternity leave, the majority of work with churches is on hold. However, the NTAC did complete final revisions on nine of the 501c3 applications and submitted these applications to the University of Illinois Law Clinic.

September 16^th and 17^th was the first University of Illinois work weekend sponsored by the East St. Louis Action Research Project. The NTAC worked with our local community partners to organize residents and students on several projects in the metro area. The Work Weekend made a major impact on several areas of the city and had the highest amount of resident participation that we have seen in the last couple of years. Thirty-five University students and local residents worked on the following projects. The next work weekend is scheduled for October 22^nd and 23^rd.

• Better Days, Inc. – Brooklyn

Cleared and reclaimed the old cemetery on Bend Road

• Community Awakening Civic Organization – Washington Park

• Citizens for a Decent Community – Washington Park

Installed a second entranceway sign at the corner of Forest Avenue and Kingshighway

• Adventures in Motivation – East St. Louis

Assisted in planning the recreation area behind the AIM office

• Carver Community Center – East St. Louis

Cleaned and made minor repairs to the interior and exterior of the Center

• Bride of Christ Church – East St. Louis

Installed plywood over the floor of the church sanctuary

• Emerson Park Development Corporation – East St. Louis

As part of the NTAC’s ongoing partnership with Stanford Scott of Adventures in Motivation, the NTAC recruited and assigned ten University of Illinois students to work with Mr. Scott on September 17^th. The students worked on planning the grounds of the recreation area behind the Center and will return in a month with preliminary drawings.

The NTAC assisted ASDC in revising their 1998 Urban Resources Partnership grant proposal. On October 23, ten University of Illinois volunteers will begin implementation of the project in cooperation with ASDC and the East St. Louis Park District.

The NTAC worked with ASNI to revise and complete their 1998 Urban Resources Partnership grant proposal to plant trees in the Virginia Place Mini-Park and along the Virginia boulevard. The proposal was funded in the amount of $21,000. The NTAC also pledged the support of 600 volunteer hours for project implementation in March, April and May of 2000.

At the request of ASNI, the NTAC evaluated the repairs needed to one of the resident’s homes, created a repair plan and referred the project to volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The NTAC attended the monthly meeting of ASNI.

The NTAC has received seven calls during the month of September from Universities across the country who are interested in sending their students to the East St. Louis metro area to work on community development projects. These groups will come during the months of February, March and April and will be matched up with local non-profit organizations who need their assistance. The NTAC is preparing a packet of information for these organizations.

At the request of Better Days Inc. and Mayor Cook, the NTAC assigned fifteen University of Illinois students to work with Brooklyn residents on clearing and recovering the old Brooklyn Cemetery on Bend Road. The clearance project will continue in October.

The NTAC reviewed and submitted Bride of Christ’s paperwork for 501c3 status to the University of Illinois Law Clinic. The NTAC also provided BOC with ten volunteers during ESLARP’s Work Weekend to install carpeting in the sanctuary to improve the energy efficiency of the building.

The NTAC continued the administration of the 1998 URP Landscaping grant for the Carver Center by submitting a request for a 20% advance in funding. The NTAC also conducted pre-construction administration for the continued renovation of the center’s HVAC system, wheel chair life and entryway. This renovation project is funded by CDBG. The NTAC also assigned six volunteers to work with Carver volunteers on the external and internal cleaning of the center on September 17^th.

The NTAC assisted Citizens for a Decent Community plan for and install a second entranceway sign in Washington Park. On September 16^th, Citizens for a Decent Community, four University of Illinois students and Professor Bob Selby installed the sign. They also cut the grass and tilled the soil around the sign. In the Spring, the sign location will be enhanced with additional landscaping.

The NTAC attended City Counsel meetings during the month of September as part of our ongoing effort to disseminate city information to our neighborhood partners via the associations’ regular meetings.

In partnership with CACO, the Mayor’s Office and the WP Police Department, the NTAC assigned eighteen University of Illinois volunteers to paint and clean the Washington Park Senior Citizen’s Building. The volunteers also painted and made minor repairs to the Police and Fire Departments on September 16^th and 17^th.

The NTAC is preparing the Technical Assistance and Capacity Building section of the Consolidated Plan by late-October. The NTAC was notified of the upcoming CDBG home rehab grant program by Ms. Tony Triplett and subsequently distributed this information to our community partners.

The NTAC Director met with Eagles Nest to familiarize herself with the goals of the organization and the status of their fundraising efforts. The NTAC agreed to work with Eagles Nest on preparing a presentation to the Ministerial Alliance and preparing a Casino Queen Grant proposal for a computer for the organization.

The NTAC attended and helped facilitate the September monthly meeting of ESL CAN. The NTAC also assisted in preparing a budget for ESL CAN’s 1999 URP proposal and reviewed their grant. ESL CAN’s URP proposal was funded at approximately $50,000.

The NTAC prepared Commissioner packets for the September PC meeting. At the request of the Commissioners, the NTAC will prepare Land Use Case Nos. 99-007 through 99-010 for their October 20^th meeting.

On September 13, the NTAC and members of ESL CAN met with Mr. Jesse Walker to offer our assistance to the Public Works Department. We offered Mr. Walker a list of suggestions for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the Department. Mr. Walker and ESL CAN will continue to have such meetings in the future. The meeting was an opportunity for us to bring the issues raised by our community partners to the attention of the Public Works Department.

The NTAC assisted the Emerson Park Development Corporation with project planning and grantwriting for the 1999 Urban Resources Partnership proposal, Greening Emerson Park II. If funded, this URP grant will provide $100,000 for the planting of trees in the right-of-ways and the removal of dead trees in a fifteen block area.

At the request of EPDC, the NTAC and the University of Illinois designed a Web page for the Emerson Park neighborhood. This page includes the EPDC brochure, the Parsons Place project summary report and the 1999 Emerson Park Neighborhood Revitalization Plan. The page is located at /ntac/emerson.html.

During the ESLARP Work Weekend I, September 16^th and 17^th, University of Illinois students met with Emerson Park residents to discuss new single family home designs that they are working with at the request of EPDC. The students took the input of the residents back to campus to incorporate into their house designs. At the end of the semester, the University studio will create ten sets of construction documents for ten new single-family homes to be built as part of Parsons Place Phase II.

The NTAC attended the September monthly meeting of EPDC.

During September, the sixteen churches involved in FBO were notified that LaTonya Webb would be on maternity leave from September 9^th to October 25^th and thus the majority of work with churches would be on hold. Despite LaTonya’s absence, the NTAC did complete the necessary 501c3 paperwork for nine of the sixteen churches and submitted this information to the University of Illinois Law Clinic. All legal assistance is provided free of charge by the Law Clinic and application fees are paid by the Enterprise Community.

The following Churches had their information forwarded to the University of Illinois:

• Bread of Life Christian Church
• Bride of Christ
• Northend Missionary Baptist (Carver Community Center)
• Community Mission (COGIC)
• Community Worship Center
• Haynes Miracle Temple
• Higher Level Ministries
• Newbern Bible Institute
• St. Elizabeth Spiritual Temple

It is our hope to move all pre-applications for 501c3 to the University of Illinois Law Clinic in the next couple of months in the hope of spending down the grant monies by the turn of the year. With the funds spent on 501c3 applications, the NTAC would like to continue assisting religious organizations with their community development plans. Many organizations have expressed concern to us that they are fearful that our services are only available for this short amount of time. The NTAC has expressed to them our interest in continuing to work with the religious organizations and in fact, believe that continuing our services is paramount to encouraging collaborations and the continued success of this initiative.

The NTAC facilitated the September meeting of the CCC Action Panel that was set up to address the most pressing issues facing the Fairlawn neighborhood. The NTAC is also working with CCC to create a "Precinct Information" book. This book will provide contact information and maps for each of Fairlawn’s seven precincts.

The NTAC is working with Golden Garden, Inc. on securing 501c3 status, developing their board of directors and strategizing for the re-use of Golden Garden School as a community center. The NTAC staff and Golden Garden, Inc. meet bi-weekly to plan future activities of the organization that will place them closer to their goals.

The NTAC continued to serve as a "Community Information Center" for the Empowerment Zone. Residents can visit the NTAC and pick up information on the Empowerment Zone.

The NTAC prepared the final report of expenditures and requested reimbursement for the Dunham’s 1997 URP grant. Also, the NTAC conducted a project planning session for the Dunham Center’s 1999 URP proposal, assisted in grantwriting and pledged our ongoing assistance with the grant. The proposal was funded at approximately $50,000.

The NTAC met with members of the LNSC to discuss the future activities of the organization and to brainstorm on ways to increase membership in the organization. Their next meeting is scheduled for October 11, 1999.

The NTAC attended the groundbreaking of the church’s new sanctuary and community center.

Mt. Calvary Church of God in Christ – Centreville (new contact)

The NTAC was referred to Mt. Calvary by Citizens for a Decent Community. In September, the NTAC met with four representatives of Mt. Calvary Church to discuss future collaboration, to explain the services of the NTAC and to advise them on expanding their public computer center. The NTAC will begin working with Mt. Calvary on obtaining 501c3 status and developing their board of directors. Although this church is not one of the chosen 16 to receive funding for 501c3 application, the NTAC will still work with them on much needed services.

Neighbors United for Progress is making great strides in implementing the Neighbors Place One landscaping project funded by the Urban Resources Partnership program. The NTAC is assisted them by managing their grant and conducting landscape design to their satisfaction. In September, the NTAC submitted documentation for a 20% advance of remaining funds and reimbursement of expenditures for on-site plumbing work. The NTAC designed the landscaping scheme, provided pre-construction adminsitration and recruited volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ and the University of Illinois to execute the project on October 16 and October 23.

The NTAC worked with Toya Nash of New Spirit to plan outreach projects for volunteers from Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The NTAC attended the September monthly meeting of OPNA and is helping to plan the organization’s Annual Halloween Party. The NTAC is also working with OPNA to begin research on designating Olivette Park as a historic district with distinct, historic structures. Students from the University of Illinois will begin this research on October 22^nd.

The NTAC assisted SENDO in project planning, grantwriting and budgeting for their 1999 URP proposal to revitalize the trees in Lincoln Park. If funded by the U.S. Forest Service, SENDO will utilize resident and student volunteers to plant trees in Lincoln Park and remove dead, hazardous trees. The grant proposal was for approximately $20,000. The NTAC also created maps of the neighborhood for SENDO and attended their monthly meeting.

In October, the NTAC and SENDO will execute a major recruitment effort in the neighborhood in an effort to get more residents involved in the neighborhood. This effort will involve flyering, phone solicitation and administering a door-to-door survey of all households in the South End.

In September, the NTAC attended two planning meetings for the Youth Opportunity Grant process and provided background information in support of the grant proposal. The NTAC has committed to helping to formulate the Citizens Advisory Committee for the YOG if funded.

The NTAC continued working with Brenda Crisp to prepare a proposal to the Enterprise Community. Unfortunately, we were not able to submit this for the October review and will revise it and submit in January of 2000.

* See attached bills and time sheets.