At her first town hall meeting Thursday night, Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl updated approximately 75 residents on the latest issues affecting the City of Evanston.
Discussion focused on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 grant, the $18 million the city will receive from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to turn foreclosed property into affordable housing. Tisdahl acknowledged the city has exceeded projected development expenses in the past but said doing the same “is not an option” this time around.
She said efficient spending will make it easier for the city to obtain more funds in the future.
“I know that we can do a better job than we’ve done before,” Tisdahl said.
Residents’ comments stressed the importance of keeping the bidding process transparent and ensuring that minority-owned, women-owned and Evanston-based businesses receive priority, as city officials have said they will. According to HUD regulations, at least 25 percent of the subcontractors hired must fit one of those categories. Some residents said that number was unjust, considering the high percentage of minorities living in the areas the grant will affect. Tisdahl agreed the 25 percent mark is too low, emphasizing it’s a minimum figure and the city hopes it will be higher. She said if any part of the process isn’t working, she’s trusting citizens to let her know.
“You have a role in this, I’m trusting you to get a hold of me,” Tisdahl said. “Let the word go out-call the mayor, that’s what you hired me for.”
Residents asked for an explanation regarding the city’s early partnership with the private development firm, Brinshore Development LLC. As the official contractor and project manager for the NSP2 undertaking, Brinshore will handle all the hiring of subcontractors and gain ownership of all rental units upon construction’s completion. Of the 100 units the city aims to rehabilitate, about 50 will be rental units, said Sarah Flax, Evanston’s community and development block grant administrator.
Flax said partnering with an experienced developer was a HUD requirement. Brinshore has worked on projects of a similar magnitude before and even helped make the grant a possibility for Evanston, Tisdahl said.
“We thought we needed Brinshore if we were to have any chance,” Tisdahl said.
The city has identified about 200 foreclosed or abandoned properties in the two census tracts where NSP2 renovations will occur, Flax said. The city will probably post bid opportunities for subcontractors within 60 days, she said. Brinshore will acquire individual properties on a rolling basis, she said.
Evanston Police Department officer Tanya Noble spoke about current crime trends in the city. Vehicle crime, property crime and pickpocketing incidents have all increased, she said. Due to the recession, different types of “opportunity crime,” or easier thefts such as snatching an unwatched laptop at a coffee shop, are escalating, she said.
Fifteen to 20 neighborhood watch groups have surfaced over the past 18 months, providing an essential resource to a police force stretched thin on funding and staff, Noble said.
“I’m telling you, it’s going to get worse,” she said. “We are doing more work with fewer resources, and it’s going to be like this from this point onward.”
Tisdahl said many city efforts will help improve the local economy; the bid to receive highspeed broadband from Google submitted in March will attract new businesses, and the possible wind farm off Evanston’s shore in Lake Michigan will need Evanston workers.
“If you think about putting 40 wind turbines into the lake, that’s a lot of jobs,” she said. “I want to put it in a context that goes beyond what you may have read in the paper.”
Tisdahl also mentioned the results of “Evanston Day” in Springfield, a day where officials from the city, Northwestern, Evanston Hospital and Evanston/Skokie School District 65 took a bus to the state capital to lobby for the city’s needs. She said despite the lack of results due to the state’s poor economic condition, legislators were impressed by the turnout.
“Everybody noticed,” she said. “We are much stronger when we work together, and we are starting to do that.”
